Dance Among the Stars
by DemonDancing
Summary: AU - life on Chikku is boring, so what's a demi Saiya-jin to do? Launch himself into space, of course! Gohan meets with a group of mercenaries, eventually joining them. Together, they journey through the stars.
1. Prologue

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~Prologue~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

_I'm not too sure where I got the notion in my head that I have to leave. I think I was reading about the explorers like Magellan and Columbus who just up and left to go find out if the world was flat. I also think it was planted in my head by Vegeta, who stole one of Miss Bulma's ships to go and find Daddy to make him tell how to become a Super Saiya-jin. _

_I think that despite all that, I'm really just plain bored and tired of my old life. I got used to the danger and excitement and fun of going around space. Krillin figured it out before I did or saw it coming, because we went on a few camping trips and other stuff before Mommy cracked down and started to make me get back to my old regime of studying times four. But who cares about that, I need some really random coordinates to get the ship going. _

_6, 5, V, 77, Q, X, 91. . . Okay that's good enough. What am I doing? I'm stealing Doctor Briefs' newest ship, whose blueprints I just happened to memorize and who's programming I know by heart.  Why? Because I can't sit here while Daddy gets to go and train in space and go on adventures without me. Good thing Miss Bulma's on a date with Yamcha and Doctor Briefs is at a conference in Cancun with Mrs. Briefs. _

"Takeoff in five, four, three, two, one. . ." there was a slight rumble and low frequency boom but overall very silent. Out of the window Gohan watched the blue sky turn into the black void of space.

"Whoa, this is pretty cool! Kami's ship wasn't this fast," marveled the eight-year-old boy. Smiling, he went to work, picking up a tool box he was given by Bulma for his last birthday and going over to the communication control panel. It was wide open; the only part of the ship that wasn't done yet was the satellite link up and receiver. 

Quickly and quietly, the small child methodically linked wires and programmed the panel. When he was done his stomach let out a loud growl.

"I guess that took longer than I thought. Okay tummy, let's get some grub." 

_~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~_

-this prologue was written by PLS, who gave this story idea to me.  The rest of the story will be purely my own, with no help from her – however, I do profusely thank her for the honor of giving me this story idea.     

I hope you enjoy this story, and the monumental effort of both myself, and my co writer DemonDancing.  Ah yes, did I fail to mention that before?  Lexi, somewhat grumblingly, agreed to help on this - you'll see her humor quite plainly at times, especially in the quirky conversations that ring so true to what conversations with her are actually like_._  Lately she's been having trouble writing her own pieces, so it took a lot of persuasion to convince her to try her hand at this - thanks a lot Lexi, you're a great friend!  I give you credit where credit is due – Lexi is responsible for getting this story up off the ground.

I should also add in a thank you to all of the wonderful people who helped edit this story and give beforehand advice and feedback.  Uncreative Psuedonym is the major beta-reader, and she deserves a lot of thanks.  *bows* So, thank you!  (check out the dbz story she's got posted, it's good.)

~Gohan's Kat =^.^=

p.s. :: I'm posting this story under Lexi's author name for several reasons.  One: she's better known than me, quite frankly. ^___^  Two: she's my co author, and therefore he has a claim to this story as well.  Three: My account is currently locked because I (oh my god) posted a story that was actually a compilation of all the best Gohan Torture fics I could find.  For some odd reason ff decided to pull it down after 6 some months up…


	2. A New Life in Space

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~Chapter 1~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

A New Life 

It had never really occurred to Gohan just how boring and lonely space could get after a while.  Training was all well and good, but after a time it just lost its appeal.  Without his mother to forbid him from following in his father's footsteps there was no more challenge in seeking time to fight.  The less he felt pestered into studying, the more he enjoyed the intellectual half of his personality, and the more free he was to train at his leisure, the less fun it became.  

He almost missed the studying he'd had to do… 

Almost.

He did know, however, that he sure missed his mom's cooking.  Although he wasn't _completely a lost cause when it came to food preparation, he found himself increasingly prone to simply eating the stored meat raw, or possibly ki blasting it - it simply depended on his mood._

=^.^=

With a sigh, Gohan turned off the gravity machine.  He had continued edging it up, and he was pretty sure that he could beat Vegeta-san by now.  He could move freely in 300x gravity, and he was working toward 350x.  His training routine basically consisted of entering the GR, turning up the gravity high enough that he could barely stand, but low enough that he didn't fall flat on his face, and doing his warm-ups.  He usually began with stretching, then sit ups and pushups, continued with a couple laps around the room, and finished with meditation - which took extra concentration to keep himself floating above the ground in such high gravity conditions.  After that he would turn the gravity down to where he could move freely, with only minor hampering from the increased conditions, and it was only then that he would begin doing katas and shadow spars.  It was a rigorous training session, one that often left him feeling a bit worn thin.  Because of this, he tried to rotate days between training and working with his mind.

Gohan ran his hands through his hair as he exited the GR portion of the ship.  He hadn't really been in the mood to train much today, so he had simply done his warm-up and meditation before calling it quits.  Deciding to take a shower, more for the hell of it then anything else, Gohan stripped down and stepped into the steady stream of hot water.

As the water poured over him, easing the tension that often built up in his wiry muscles, he let his thoughts drift.  He wondered how his mother was doing.  That was one thing that had been bugging him lately - he knew she hadn't been happy about him leaving for Namek, and he knew she'd been devastated by his father's disappearance, but he hadn't stopped to think about how she was taking _his departure.  And to make things worse, he really had no idea where he was anymore - nor did he know what time it was, how many days had passed, or where he was going.  If only he could undo that fateful decision that left him floating alone in outer space…_

And as the water poured over him, the young child made a vow.  He would never again make such a rash, callous choice so quickly.  He would never again act without thinking things through.  He would never again leave those he cared for.  He would never again let a decision haunt him this way.

=^.^=

Stretching slightly, Gohan made his way to what he'd designated as his "lab".  He'd found quickly that tinkering with things held a certain peace for him - the same feeling that only studying used to hold, only this was way more fun.  He found that he could so completely lose himself in the mechanics of a gadget that he'd almost forget that he was by himself, thousands of light years away from his family and friends. 

~_Until I have thoughts like these, of course~ The child thought to himself sarcastically.  Ah yes, sarcasm - another thing he'd grown increasingly accustomed to.  When you had no one else around, you really had two options - babble to everything around you, or make short, derisive comments about yourself and your own stupidity.  Gohan had been expecting to find the first to occur, but had quickly found that he'd underestimated his self-depreciation, as well as his own cynical wit._

Sighing, he settled cross-legged on the ground and picked up his latest invention.  He had set a challenge for himself - using the spare parts and the tools that Bulma had put on the ship, he was building himself a robot.  Not only would building it give him something to do, when it was complete it would also be a source of interaction.  

He had completed the blueprint about a week ago, and was working on some of the wiring right now.  It was fairly complex, and he was very proud of it - he was almost positive that it would work.  In fact, if it _did work, it would put him in an intelligence category ahead of even Bulma at that age - the most complex machine _she_ had ever made at age 8 had been some sort of remote control car, nothing __near as complex and intricate as Gohan's endeavor.  _

Smiling wistfully at memories of the Z Warriors and Earth, Gohan drifted off into the timeless world occupied by all geniuses in the throws of invention.

=^.^=

Gohan grinned from ear to ear as he put the finishing touches on his robot.  He was almost ready to test it, and he'd already decided a name - Goten.  He'd always wanted a little brother named Goten, and he figured that - since his parents would not only never have another kid, they'd also never take his advice when it came to names - this would probably be the closest he ever got.  Goten - his friend and his creation; which actually made it his child, if he chose to think about it that way.  At least, if it was as smart as he hoped it would be...  But _there was a staggering thought, having a child (of a sort) at age 8… _

_Take that mom!  You were always wondering when I was going to give you grandchildren - you could never decide if you wanted me to be your baby forever, or for me to just get it over with and give you new__ babies that you could spoil rotten… I don't think you meant for me to have kids at this age, especially not a kid like this… He laughed at the mental scene playing itself out - himself showing his mother a silver sphere swaddled in blue cloth… __"It's a boy, mom!"   Soon he was rolling on the floor, howling with mirth.  _

If space did one thing to you, it certainly enhanced your imagination - and your appreciation of the afore mentioned…

Still grinning, Gohan made one last quick check over before flipping the switch to activate his new friend.  His smile grew even wider as the silver spherical robot levitated up to eye level with the cross-legged Gohan.  It was roughly the size and shape of a bowling ball, but much lighter.  It had a variety of sensors taken from various parts of the ship: everything from the visual communicator's screen all the way down to the on-off switch that the demi-Saiya-jin had pilfered from a lamp in the closet.  

The ball bleeped fuzzily, almost as if asking where he was.  Gohan was now grinning ecstatically. "You're on board my space ship. My name is Son Gohan, and I'm the one who built you." Another questioning beep, and Gohan informed the droid that its name was Goten.  The boy chuckled slightly as the sphere bobbed up and down in an exuberant show of approval for the selected name.

From then on out, the gray cloud of loneliness lifted.  Gohan could walk into any room and, instead of hearing the depressing sound of silence, he would hear a string of beeps and boops that were eventually modulated into actual words. It was heartening to know that he had something to talk to that could at least _listen to what he had to say, as well as say something back.  The feeling of claustrophobia that had been building around him the past few months also lifted, though it was still present at times._

Gohan had truly found a new life in space.

==========================================================

A/N:  There's the second installment!  For the record, I'll be able to update fairly regularly for quite a while – once a week, as I'm thinking.  Granted, this _is_ provided I'm not jinxing myself or something… *knocks on wood*  

Thank you to our first two reviewers, I'm glad you think this story looks interesting! *bows deeply* I hope you continue to enjoy it – after all, not including my Guide things, this is the very first story I've ever written.  I'm lucky in that I do have an old pro writing with me *nudes Lexi, who is currently tapping her foot in annoyance at the "boring a/n"*.

Lexi: Kami this is dull…

Kat: oh shut up, Lexi.

Lexi: *suddenly perks up* Hey!  I'm in the author notes! *laughs maliciously*

Kat: *sweatdrops* aaaaah shit.

Lexi: *quite happy* My turn!  I'm sticking in my two cents worth, and they'll be to mention the fact that this story is rated pg-13 for a reason.  It might look tame right now, but once we introduce the mercenaries…  Blood, guts, swearing – all that good stuff!  

Kat: ie ie ie...

Lexi: Oh!  And as a matter of reputation, the Goten idea was Kat's.  I'd be hard pressed to think up something _that_ fluffy.  My contribution to the Goten idea comes in later. D


	3. All Good Things Must End aka GS Phone Ho...

Hmmm…  Oops, I seem to have forgotten a disclaimer!  Oh well, not like anyone's gunna sue me, but whatever.  Since I'm not as disclaimer crazy as Lexi, I'm just going to do this once:  Dragon Ball/Z/GT are not the property of me – if they were. *chuckles evily* lets just say Gohan wouldn't be quite so wimpy and clueless.

**             ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~Chapter 2****~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~**

                             All Good Things Must End                                                                                                                       

                                (aka G.S. Phone Home)

           Gohan had been in space for almost six months, and the feeling of homesickness had been getting steadily worse. Sure, he had Goten to keep him company - but a robot _hardly takes the place of a mother.  Honest-to-god, he really wanted nothing more than to talk to his mommy - despite the fact that he was pretty sure he'd just turned nine.  There was one rather large obstacle in the way, however: he'd used nearly 90% of the communication system in his droid, and he wasn't at all willing to dismantle his friend.  _

=^.^=

           Gohan lay back on his bed, sighing heavily as he regarded the ceiling of his room.  It wasn't long before Goten floated over, beeping in curiosity.  Gohan sighed again and closed his eyes.  "I miss my mom, Goten. I want to talk to her!  At the very least I'd like to let her know I'm alive.  She must be worried sick about me…" 

           Goten processed his words in silence, just as he'd done on so many other occasions. He wasn't necessarily the most complex droid ever built - he was nothing compared to the creations Dr. Gero was currently being built on earth - but he _had been programmed with plenty of love and wisdom.  He wanted to help his master - well, as much as a machine can actually _want_ something…_

           **Master, why don't you just talk to her via the computer?**  

           Gohan sighed in exasperation.  "But I _can't_ Goten! I used the parts to make _you_!" 

            **…then use me** 

           Gohan opened his eyes to regard Goten in confusion.  "Nani??? I can't do that!!! You'd lose everything you are!  The personality you've formed over the past few months would be erased, your memory would go dead, you yourself would be taken apart… You're my _friend Goten, my __child - I just can't! It's barbaric!" _

           But the silver sphere had other ideas. **No, you said you used the parts in me - I bet if you connected _more parts, like a long range satellite and formulated my screen to be input/output, then we could send a message!**  _

           Gohan sat up and frowned in speculation.  In theory, it could work...  Already planning out the details and which tools he would need, Gohan sent a grateful smile towards Goten. "That's a really good idea, why didn't I think of that?  Thanks, Goten!"  

           Goten bleeped a few times in response.  **It's nothing Master - You've been distraught.  It really is a good thing that you imbued me with your intelligence…**         

           Gohan grinned at the silver droid's honest-to-god statement and nodded. "Sure is 'Ten!"  Laughing happily, the young boy took off to look for the parts he would need.

=^.^=

            Smiling ecstatically, Gohan adjusted the collar of the shirt he'd picked for the message he was going to send to his mother.  When he'd first left, he'd taken mostly gis and fighting clothes with him, but he'd been trained by his mother well enough that he'd thrown in some nice clothes out of habit - he was grateful for that now, because he figured his mother would take this a _lot_ better if he was dressed in nice khakis and a white dress shirt than she would if he was dressed in a miniature version of his father's outfit. 

            "Alright, I'm ready when you are 'Ten!"

            **Activating recording mechanism, Master.  3…2…1…Action!**

"_Hi mom!  How are you?  I'm doing pretty well.  It's pretty lonely up here, to tell the truth…  I miss you, and daddy, and everyone else.  Has daddy gotten back yet?  I hope so… It was really stupid of me to leave like that, and I want to tell you I'm really, really sorry.  I love you very much, and I want you to know that you're a great mommy: I can't wait until I get back home!  I don't know how long I've been out here since there really isn't any way to keep track of days or months or anything, but I think I'm 9 now.  I really missed getting a birthday hug from you, and I definitely__ miss your cooking."  The recorded Gohan grinned and rubbed the back of his head as he said this, chuckling slightly.  "Tell Miss Bulma that I'm sorry I took her ship without asking, and tell her that it's doing its job well."  Another grin.  "I've almost reached the coordinates I set in, so I'll stop and restock the larder, then turn back for home.  I should be back in the same amount of time it took me to get this far, but I don't know how long that was, so I can't give you a good estimate…  Oh yeah!  I also wanted to tell you that I'm still studying, though I'll have some questions for you when I get back - somehow quantum physics doesn't make quite as much sense as normal physics.  I love you soooo much, mommy!  Bye!"_

            **beeeeeep**

            "Did you get all that, Goten?"  Gohan asked in excitement, grinning from ear to ear.  The silver droid beeped again in confirmation as it finished processing everything that Gohan had just said.

             **Yes Master, and it's now on it's way to Chikuu!**

             Gohan laughed happily as he changed out of his "mother" clothes and back into his training clothes.  It was time to let loose some of this pent up excitement as he waited for a reply! 

=^.^=

            Almost a month later and still without a reply, Gohan had gotten worried.  Had the message failed to get through?  He really wanted his mom to know that he was still alive and well, and that she didn't have to worry about him!  He was preparing to try again, in fact, when the ship's computer sent out a loud beep, alerting its passenger that they were exactly 1 minute away from landing.

           Gohan yelped slightly and scrambled for one of the seats in front.  Goten, who had just been switched into 'record' mode, followed him, recording his actions.  Suddenly the ship began to shake and it was all Gohan could do to keep from throwing up.  He hadn't realized that planet entry would be so difficult!

           It was all over in less than a minute.  Gohan climbed out of the crater the ship had caused and looked around in unadulterated curiosity.  Goten followed closely behind, recording both his master's actions and the planet's scenery.  The sky was an odd shade of purple, the sun white, and the ground was crusty black sand.  There was a bit of blue, mossy material growing in patches, and all in all, the planet looked surprisingly similar to a giant bruise.  

            In fact, the people he could see approaching him from strange black huts didn't look a whole lot friendlier than their planet.  For the most part they were tall beings, broad shouldered and reminiscent of Nameks.  However, if they were Nameks, they were ones that had gone horribly, horribly wrong.   Their skin was a very dark purple, bordering on black, while their eyes were bright blue.  Their clothing consisted of ragged tunics made from the blue moss, and they were unshod.  They ambled toward the young demi-Saiya-jin, and he realized that he must look _awfully_ out of place here with his pale skin, black eyes, dark spiky hair - as opposed to their shockingly white hair that hung straight down - and bright orange outfit.  

            "Um… Hello?"  He said in a very hesitant voice, speaking in Universal Standard rather than Japanese. (1)  "Uh… My name is Gohan, I uh, was wondering if you could perhaps tell me where I am?"

            The creatures frowned down at him and jabbered to each other in a language that reminded him strongly of Ethiopian, but they obviously didn't understand him any more than he understood them.  Suddenly one of the larger ones near the front began to smirk, and said something that caused the others to look him over speculatively.  Gohan gulped slightly and began backing up toward the ship again.  

           "Um, on second thought...  I'll go somewhere else.  I believe I saw a friendlier planet back thataway…"  Spinning on his heel, Gohan sprinted back toward the ship, but too late.  The one in front had him pinned down at an extremely odd angle, and Gohan was panicking.  What should he do???  He sized up their ki and knew that none of them were a match for him - alone.  All of them together?  Who knew.

            Gohan began to struggle, knowing it would be useless to call for help - concentrating on kis now, he could feel nothing but malevolence radiating from the planet.  Why had he been so stupid?  He should have checked ki before he'd gotten off the ship!  He knew in his mind that it was because he'd been too anxious to see other life, but in his heart all he could do was cry.

             And then he let out a shattering scream as he felt the Bruisers break his arms and legs in quick motions.  He hadn't stood a chance - he'd lost through hesitation before he'd even had a chance to fight.

=^.^=

            Goten knew that everything had gone wrong.  He began to run a series of programs as he prepared for what he knew to be the end.  First he sent the recorded message en route to Chikuu, a message that Gohan would be heartbroken to know his mother had received - one that ended with him screaming in pain while surrounded by obviously evil beings.  Second he triggered a program that sent the blueprints of himself to Chikuu as well, knowing how proud Master Gohan had been of him.  Third he capsulized the ship, locking it so that only Master Gohan's DNA could open it.  Finally, with a mental farewell to his master, he flew into the midst of the creatures and triggered a program that Gohan had added only as a last resort.  He ceased to exist in a brilliant flash of light, a huge explosion, multiple injuries to many of his master's assailants, and the death of at least one Bruiser.  

             Goten felt only peace as he flickered out of being.

A/N:  (1)  The note about the languages…  I thought it odd in the series that everyone spoke the same language – so I came up with a theory to provide some legitimacy to my own story.  Gohan speaks Japanese, but on the way to Namek in Kami's ship, Bulma, Krillin, and he learned to speak Universal from the computer.  He speaks it with an accent, but he can speak it well – it's like an inborn skill that many races are born with, and Saiya-jins are one of those races.  Thus, it was way easier for Gohan to learn than Krillin or Bulma, and it also explains how Goku knew how to speak it on Namek – he learned when he was a child being sent to Earth, and it was always at the back of his mind:  when the people around him started speaking it, it reawakened memories without him really knowing it.  Ok, did that make any sense?  I need to make the universe this way so that it will be a bit more of a challenge for some people to communicate with each other… *shrugs* Besides, it just seemed odd that everyone was able to speak the same language without a thought, even the humans who technically didn't have any interaction with extra terrestrials…

Lexi: *sighs* ya know something Kat…

Kat: *warily* what is it Lexi?

Lexi: Your author notes are hella boring.

Kat: =.=  Gee.  Thanks.  I'm in awe of your overwhelming confidence in my skills.

Lexi: *small grin* No problem Kitty-chan!  Tell ya what, just because you're my friend and you're younger than me, I'll take over the author notes from now on.

Kat: *looks horrified* you wouldn't!

Lexi: *malicious grin* I would.  I also _can_ because you don't have my password, and I have final say in what gets posted.

Kat: Damnit… I _knew_ I should've posted under my own name…

Lexi: *laughing evilly* Oh!  And for the record, the Goten paragraph was my idea, though Kat rewrote it. *glares at Kat*  

Kat: *gulps nervously and smiles at readers* Er, anyways, the next chapter will be out in a week or so…  And thank you for all your reviews!  It makes us happy. ^___^


	4. The Cost of Hesitation

A/N: I'd just like to ask you to please take the time to read the entire note on the bottom of this chapter – There's some really important information there explaining some of the things that might not have made sense in this chapter. (You'll know it when you read it.)  Thanks for your time, enjoy the story!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~Chapter 3~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The Cost of Hesitation

(or: Enter the Faceless Ones)

            Gohan drifted somewhere between here and there.  The pain in his body told him that the Bruisers, as he had dubbed them, hadn't stopped at just his arms and legs – yet the pain was distant.  More evident was the pain of his heart.  The pain of _knowing_ he could have done something.  The pain of knowing Goten had sacrificed himself…  

            Tears streaked down Gohan's face as he came more and more awake.  The full extent of the pain finally made itself known in one fell swoop as Gohan shouldered his way into reality.  He almost passed out again from the pain of so many injuries, but stubbornly refused to give up.  He deserved this pain, so he might as well stay awake to …enjoy it.

            He looked around himself with a faint sense of curiosity, dimmed by the vast amounts of pain – but after all, this _was_ an alien planet…  He was in a strange structure, which he knew instinctively to be some sort of communal building.  The ceiling was low, as there didn't seem to be any way to support a taller structure.  The ground was covered in the blue moss, with the exception of the hard, lumpy stones that Gohan was sitting on.  With a mental jolt of surprise, Gohan realized that he wasn't restrained at all.  He immediately tried to get up, but hardly managed an inch before he was forced to sit back down from the pain.

           Taking a quick, professional assessment of damages, he decided that he wasn't going to die from the wounds, though he would be seriously crippled if he didn't get treatment quickly.  His forearms were both broken and lying useless at his sides, and his shins were both broken at almost right angles – he couldn't bear to look at them for more than the brief second it took to note them, then forced himself to close his eyes.  The burning sensation he felt in his chest when he breathed probably signified a few broken ribs, and the warm, wet feeling on the right side of his face was blood, though the pain was so distant that he couldn't tell where the wound might be.  The way it hurt to breath through his nose meant that it was either broken or part of it was sliced, he couldn't tell which at the moment, and the tickling sensation across his back was recognized as blood, probably from the flogging he could vaguely remember.  All in all, the pain was so all encompassing that it hardly hurt - if that made any sense to his benumbed mind.

            No wonder they hadn't bothered to tie him up.

            He could see a group of Bruisers standing a short distance away, passing what looked to be a capsule back and forth, obviously trying to figure out what it was.  He couldn't help but feel smug that Goten had managed to trigger the locking mechanism, as he obviously had, and would have laughed at the befuddled aliens if he hadn't been in so much pain.

           But he was drifting off again… so sleepy… maybe he had been mistaken; maybe he'd get lucky and the wounds would be fatal after all…

            Kitten raised an eyebrow as she and the others stepped out of their ship onto the black, purple, and blue planet of Keman.  "Kais, it looks like a giant bruise!"  

            Xe snorted slightly in derisive agreement, and the others chuckled or rolled their eyes according to their personalities.

            "Let's get on with it.  Remember, we're to kill them all.  Every one of them.  No, I don't care Dae - women and children too."  

            Hali barked the orders in the same concise manner that she always did, anticipating any protests that were likely to come.  Kitten knew that Hali didn't particularly relish killing off the women and kids any more than Dae did, but she knew it was necessary, and so did Kitten.  These creatures had a powerful weapon in their possession, something they called the Dragon Balls.  Something that had to be destroyed before they did any more harm.  Somehow they were tied to one of these creatures, and they didn't know which one - nor did it particularly matter.  All these creatures were evil, as a study of the planet had told them.

           Kitten was one of six members of the elite mercenary group known as "The Faceless Ones."  They were the best at what they did, were scrupulously honest most of the time, were quick, clean, and efficient, and were the best that money could buy.  She had joined up at age 13 after being recruited as a mechanic/resident genius.  Alright, alright, she had to admit that she'd made up the last part - but they all went along with it anyways!  

           But, to no one's surprise, she was letting her mind wonder off the job.  She didn't really have a big role this time – basically the only instructions she had were to guard the ship.  Flicking long white hair out of her eyes, the 17-year-old watched with a twinge of jealousy as the others took off in separate directions.  This mission should be fairly simple, especially for warriors of their caliber.  She watched mildly as Xe went south, Hali north, the twins east, and Dae west.  

          Stifling a yawn, Kitten settled down on top of the sleek silver ship.  Patting it absentmindedly, she scanned the area.  No one was in sight.  Damn.  And she sooo wanted to kill something!

          Gohan was suddenly called into alertness as the group of Bruisers ran out the door, leaving him alone in the hut.  What was happening?  They hadn't left him alone at all for the three days he'd been here!  Maybe they thought he was still too weak to escape, and not worth the effort it took to keep an eye on…  Or maybe there was a problem outside, enemies of this clan.  If that were true, Gohan might just be able to convince them to rescue him!  It was definitely a long shot, but it couldn't be any worse than what he was going through right now…

            With a grunt of pain, Gohan used his elbows to push himself away from the wall he'd been leaning against.  Extremely painful though it was, the 9-year-old determinedly rotated until he was standing on his knees, his legs too far gone to stand upon.  With a deep intake of breath, the demi Saiya-jin shuffled forward, resolutely ignoring the waves of pain that washed over his body with every jarring movement.  He was going to escape.  He had to.  The only pause he made on his trek to the door was when he lowered himself painfully to the ground with his elbows in order to pick up his capsulized spaceship with his mouth.  It hurt like all hell, but hey - he couldn't escape without this!

           It took Gohan nearly fifteen minutes to reach the doorway of the hut, a mere 6 feet away from the stones he'd been sitting on.  He grimaced at the thought of being caught like this, and had to remind himself over and over again that slow and steady wins the race - and hurrying will end with you flat on your face in too much pain to move.

           It took monumental effort, but somehow he managed to get himself a few yards away from the dark clutch of huts.  He looked back at them and briefly wondered why it was so deserted.  Had they gone hunting or something?  But no matter, there was no one around to stop him and that was the only really important thing right now.

_           Well, amend that_, he thought as his stomach groaned, _it's important to find food too, seeing as I haven't eaten since leaving my ship_.  The thought of food cleared his pain be-numbed mind only briefly - but it was enough time for an idea form that would make escape significantly less difficult.  With a tiny smile that was half ironic humor, half agony, Gohan forced enough of his ki underneath him to float an inch or so above the ground.  Being an intelligent boy, he stayed low, knowing that with wounds as bad as his he wouldn't have the ki to sustain himself very long.  _And another fall would probably kill me_, he thought wryly.

           Using this method, Gohan was able to make it almost a mile away from the little village before collapsing into a deep, pain-induced sleep.

            Humming an off-key tune to herself, Kitten continued to sketch designs for a requested ship modification.  Hell, she had nothing else to do.

            "Where _are they?  They should be back by now…  No purging mission this easy should be taking them two entire fucking hours!"  Out of reflex, Kitten sent her senses out in search of their ki.  All of them were still fighting by the looks of it, though it seemed as if the twins would be wrapping up shortly.  Another ki sweep told her that no Keman-jins were within a mile radius._

             For the hell of it - has it been mentioned that the hyperactive teen was bored as hell? - Kitten sent her senses in an ever-widening circle, trying to spot how far away the closest Keman-jins were.  On her 5 mile arc, she suddenly paused, having come in contact with a substantially high ki reading that was nonetheless falling fast.

             Curiosity warred with given orders inside her head - to check out the ki, or not?  _Risk being reprimanded by Hali, or do something to relieve my boredom?_  Well, at the thought of her boredom, there was no longer a question of what to do.  With a grin and a swish of her tail, Kitten took off towards the fading ki.  This might be fun!

             She spotted the battered creature in seconds.  After all, that orange gi was bright enough to hurt the eyes when examined against the black soil, even while dusty and bloody.  She dropped down from the sky a few feet away from it, examining it with a critical eye.  It dawned on her right away that it was no more a Keman-jin than she was, and therefore not part of the purging mission - so why was it here, and why was it so beat up?  Because, as the first glance had revealed, it was in real bad shape - _are its legs _supposed_ to bend like that?_ - and blood was seeping onto the black sand.  It was going to die if it didn't get any help, and fast.  Biting her lip anxiously, she debated whether or not she should rescue it - after all, it might be dangerous!

             But no, it looked like a child - there was no way that a mere child would be able to harm six of the most powerful warriors in the universe!  Gingerly rolling over the body, she gasped at the extent of damage.  There was so much clotted blood on the face that she couldn't make out any features at all, and there was a piece of bone protruding from the chest, most likely a rib of some sort.  She couldn't do a full analysis on the creature given its unknown anatomy, but she reckoned that a stay in the regen tank would fix it up anyways.

            With care for the multiple wounds, Kitten gently picked up the tattered creature and flew back to the ship.  Once she'd cleared off a place for it on the surgeon's table with a quick swipe of her tail, she carefully took off the scanty remains of its clothing.  After placing it gently into the healing chamber and setting a regen-cycle, Kitten had the oddest feeling that she had just done something worthy, noble, and likely to change her life forever.

_            Hmm… If this brat will change my life forever, it's probably a good idea to put a ki lock on this room of the ship.  You never know if it will be a good__ change or a bad_ one.__

             When Gohan woke up much later, it was to blue liquid caressing his naked body.  His conscious mind was highly confused - where was he?  What was this stuff?  But it didn't take long for his subconscious to kick in.

_             Saiya-jins… This blue crap has to do with Saiya-jins__!  I have to get out!_

_            But…_

_            They killed Piccolo!  They killed daddy!  Have to… have to get out…_

            And then came the flashes of memory - the death of his father, the death of his mentor, the trip to Namek and the death of Krillin…  With a cry, Gohan powered up, blasting the regen tank into oblivion.  Panting heavily, he cast frantic eyes about the room for some sort of clothing.  He… he had to escape!

            It wasn't until he had pulled on the tattered remains of his bloody gi that recent memory caught up with him.        

_            Oh yeah… We wished everyone back.  Vegeta is good now, he's the one who put dad in the tank…  It, it healed him I think.  Is that what was happening to me?  I was being healed?  I'm not broken like I remember being…  But still, who brought me here?  Why did they save me?  What's going on?_

            He felt himself over, looking for the wounds that he could vaguely remember having.  He winced several times as his prodding fingers came in contact with raw, pink skin, stretched tightly over new scars.  There were no open wounds that he could feel, his arms and legs felt completely healed, and he could breathe through his nose again.  He took a few experimental steps, and found that he could move easily.  A deep breath proved that the ribs were properly healed, and an experimental exploration of his face indicated scar tissue across the bridge of his nose, but nothing else.  Smiling broadly at his restored state, he spread his legs and arched his back, stretching out the kinks.  It wasn't until he leaned forward and felt the skin on his back stretch uncomfortably did he remember the beating that had occurred.  Apparently the stay in the funny tank hadn't healed him completely - he'd probably broken out before the healing was done.

_             Oh well, he thought with an easy smile, __at least I'm well enough to protect myself.  I won't hesitate this time… I won't ever hesitate again.  At the last thought he dropped the easy smile a child his age should possess, and adopted the stony, thoughtful face that had become normal while alone in space.  _My hesitation killed Piccolo once, and it almost killed me.  I can't afford hesitation, even if it means killing others.__

             Completely serious now, the nine-year-old searched for the door as another thought struck him.  He wasn't on his own ship, and he wasn't with the Bruisers - which meant that at some point someone or something had found him and taken him with them.  Despite the healing, he couldn't be sure of what picked him up - just because Frieza had healed his soldiers didn't make him good.  Preparing for the worst, Gohan double-checked his own ki, making sure it was as low as he normally held it - about 70 or 80 rather than 700,000.  Gohan did a sudden double take – 700,000 was nearly triple the ki level he'd had when he left Chikuu-sei!  _But that's logical, isn't it.  I trained all the time for six or seven months, and then almost died – when Saiya-jins recover from serious injury, Vegeta said they get stronger.  I most _definitely _suffered serious and prolonged injury – it makes sense that I'm stronger now._

            While he was at it, he sent his ki senses around the vicinity, trying to discover where he was.  To his surprise, he encountered a barrier of sorts around the room he was in that didn't allow him to sense outside this one area.  Worried what this could mean, Gohan chose to be ready to fight.  Preparing himself for combat, Gohan quickly tied up his long hair in a tight horsetail to keep it out of his face.  His gi was no longer fit for battle, but a glance around the room revealed no other clothing.  Oh well, he'd made due with less before.

            After gingerly exploring the extent of the ki wall, Gohan decided that the best move would be to lie low, waiting for whatever was out there to come to him.  If he kept his ki down then they wouldn't be able to tell that he was awake now, and he would be able to take them by surprise when they next came in.  He settled down to wait, taking stock of what could potentially become the battleground as he did so.

           He waited for the door to open, prepared to launch the attack - for he would _never_ hesitate again.

A/N: Lexi: *smirks* I have successfully taken over the author notes! *laughs evilly as Kitty struggles to escape Vegeta's strangle hold*

   Kat: NO!  dammit Lexi, make your muse let go of me!

Lexi: Iie, it's my turn to talk. *sticks nose in the air and turns to the audience* Okies, I get to explain this chapter to you.  First of all, I'd like to say that Kitty and I are going to be posting in depth descriptions of all these characters on a website – there's six of them, and that'll be a pain to go through the history, personality, physical description, etc of each and every goddamn one.  Kitty wanted to be all description-happy and write out pages of info into the story itself, but I vetoed – talk about boring!

   Kat: *snorts, tugs on Vegeta's arms* No, informative! There's a difference!

Lexi: *rolls eyes* whatever Kitty-chan.  Anyways, back to my explanation.  We'll post the address on the beginning of the next chapter (it isn't finished yet .) or, if you guys are in favor of it, we'll just post the stats instead of the next chapter in the story itself.  

   Kat: *still struggling ineffectively* Geeze Lex, at least tell them about what's written in the story already!

Lexi: *waves hand dismissively* Yadda yadda.  Okay, lots of information, so hold tight – First of all, the ki lock around the room Gohan was healed in makes it so that he can't get out or feel ki – the downside is that the Faceless Ones can't feel _his_ ki while he's in there either, which is why no one felt it when he powered up and destroyed the regen-tank.  Also, the reason the Faceless Ones can sense ki is because – come on!  Chikuu-jins, who aren't talented with ki at _all_ I should state, can't possibly be the only ones to figure out how it works in an entire universe populated by races of sentient beings.  This is an A/U, so Kitty and I decided that Xe-chan was taught to sense ki by his mother, whose race is inherently capable of it.  He taught the others by and by, thus how the Faceless Ones can sense energy.  The reason the Cold's couldn't is because, let's face it – if you're the best, you don't tell your secret techniques to people you basically are itching to kill!

   Kat: *finally resorts to biting Vegeta's arms, and with a curse he lets her go*  As a matter of personal defense, I want to add that the character Kitten is in no way shape or form a caricature of _me._

Lexi: *smirks and looks the other way, whistling innocently*

   Kat: *glares* Or at least _I_ didn't model her after me in any way.  She is an independent character, and the reason she's called Kitten will be explained later – just don't get turned off because you think it's a self-insertion. *gives a half smile* I personally _hate_ self-insertions with a passion, so I felt this necessary…

Lexi: *sighs* are we done yet?

   Kat: *thinks* Yeah, yeah I think we're done.  That's a long author note, Lexi-chan – I thought you said _mine_ were too long and boring!

Lexi: *grumbles and stocks away irritably* 

**Next Time on Dance Among the Stars: **

Introducing the members of **the Faceless Ones**! _"Outsiders might see them as blood thirsty, evil, backstabbing mercenaries, but Kitten knew better.  She knew that they were in reality blood thirsty, sorta-evil mercenaries - but there was no backstabbing involved unless it was referring to assassination."_

**     Kitten:** _In fact, considering her karma, it would turn out to be a Saiya-jin or something - and boy would she get it then!_  __

**Sassy: **_"Maybe because we were busy eradicating all life from the face of the planet?"_

     **Ryl:** _"Or maybe it's because you're old and slow, Sassy.  It would explain a lot,"_

** Hali:  **_"You were stupid, Kitten. But there's nothing we can do about it now.  No, I won't kill you for something so trivial.  Yes, I could tell you were worried.  I'll take a look at it as soon as it's better.  Let's move out, dead planets bug me."_****

     **Xe:  **_Xe stepped into the ship, ducking to fit through the door.  He stood silently for a moment, surveying the already gathered members of their group, then glided silently to his chair. _ ****

**     Dae:  **_"Kitten?  Did you do something stupid again?  I hope you didn't blow up anything important this time, we already have repairs to worry about…"_****


	5. Character Sketches

Well, I decided to post character stat sheets instead of a chapter this time for two reasons – one is that I have no talent at all with creating webpages, and Lexi is busy with college and stuff – and two is that I haven't completely edited the next chapter, and today is a post day… . *blushes, then grins* besides – would anyone really have bothered going to a separate site?  And this is such important information!  Please do read it, or at least refer back to it because it has important information in it. 

This is a catalogue of the 6 main original characters used in "A New Life In Space".  It gives everything that you need to know, and it keeps me from wasting too much time on descriptions – I do that plenty without added cause for more. ^__^  I hope this helps you, and let me know what you think of them! 

                                 =^^= Kitty

Oh!  And instead of bothering with describing the tattoo of the Faceless Ones each and every time I go through one, I'll save myself trouble and explain it here:  It's a dark red that appears black without very careful scrutiny.  Picture this: Gohan's left eye.  A line runs down the outer edge at a slant, following the outside of his eye.  It reaches down half again as far down onto his cheek, with a slight curve back at the tip. Next is what looks like an elongated, upside down 2 stretched along the bottom of his eye.  The pointed tip of the 2 crosses slightly over the other line, as does the top.  Last is the heavily slanted line that goes from a quarter of the way in on the base of the 2, through the round part, and forms an x with the line down the side, and a mini triangle with the top of the 2.  If all this is confusing, say so in a review and I'll email you a picture of what it's supposed to look like if you also leave your email address.

Index:

Hali, leader

Kitten, mechanic

The Twins, fighters

Dae, resident psychic, tracker, fighter

Xe, resident psycho, fighter

Gohan, fighter

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~Hali~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
  


**Name: **Halaen Miath; (pronounced: ha LAY an, me OATH)

-**nicknames:** "Chief" by group, "Hali" (HAY lee) by narrator, later she'll also be called "mother" or "kaa-san" by certain group members

**Sex**:     Female

**Race**:   Pyreat-jin (pie RE at jin): A violent race, but stoic and quietly so.  They are much stronger than humans, and the strongest can easily overpower a non-transformed Saiya-jin, and hold their own for a time against a SSJ1.  They form themselves into clans and hierarchies: the stronger you are, the higher up you get on the social ladder.  Once you reach the age of 6, a band of dark metal is permanently encased around your throat, with markings that tell what status you are and which clan you belong to.  These bands, called "Torques", are impossible to remove, though with enough effort it is possible to completely remove any trace of markings on the metal.  They kill each other without a second thought, and are raised to have little mercy.  The clan wars are bloody but brief, as they have strict codes of honor - once a certain number of deaths have occurred, a truce is called so that too many lives won't be lost.  There is no sense of racial loyalty whatsoever, and a Pyreat-jin is as likely to kill its fellow Pyreat-jin as an alien.  The loyalty between clan members, however, is incredibly strong, and one member will do anything – even give up their own life – to see another clan member safe.  This is especially true of children, and a clan child is raised by everyone.  They love children and, because they are so very violent, children are honored and protected so that the race won't die out. They would no sooner kill the child of another clan then they would one of their own – which is one of the only reasons their race lives on. Nobody really knows how long a Pyreat-jin can live, given that most die before they hit thirty earth years, and to reach forty makes a person a venerable elder worthy of utmost respect.  However, it can be attested that the oldest Pyreat-jin in history reached 73, yet was still as spry as he had been at age 20.

**-Notable features of the race**: Long tapering ears, about 6 inches. Being mainly carnivorous, their teeth are sharp and pointed and the canines are longer and even sharper, holding poisonous venom. Their tongues are forked and are similar to a snake in all things except color, as they are black. They have long, sharp, partially retractable claws – built in weapons.  They have horns growing out of their heads, black in color, and backwards swept – think Beelzebub from Sandland.  Their skin appears to have a metallic sheen, which is actually an oil that their skin glands secrete.  It helps to sterilize wounds, though there isn't any regenerative properties – they never get infections in their wounds, even if they're left untended for a week.

**Physical description**

-**hair**:   black with purple streaks, very tightly curled.  She wears it cropped tight to her 

skull – she allows it to grow no longer than an inch.

**-eyes**:  Cold steal gray with flecks of orange. Serious eyes, yet they are often the only 

sign of emotion on the warrior's face.  Thin and upward slanted, she has slit pupils.

**-skin:**   a pale red with a metallic sheen (not pink; when I say pale red, I do mean red). 

There's also traces and shades of purple in her skin.

**-face**:   Broad cheekbones, wide nose, pointed chin, high forehead, thin arching 

eyebrows – not exactly the prettiest woman alive, and her features are strong and pronounced.  

-**scars/tattoos**: A long scar across her face from her left temple to the right side of her 

neck that she received from a sword while still on Pyreat. About half of her left ear is missing, making it look similar to a human ear though the other tapers into a long point. The rest of her hundreds of scars are either small or well hidden, and either way are not important.  She also has the Troops' mark tattooed across her left cheek, as does everyone else on the team. 

**-build:** on the short and stocky side, with high density muscles. During an 

interview with Dae, she was referred to as being "a hell of a lot of power stuffed into a deceptively little package."

-**height**: 5'3"

-**age**: leaves planet at 14, begins group at 18, meets Gohan at 28, Earth at 37

-**miscellaneous**: Hali is a warrior, and looks as such – no more needs be said. ^~

**Clothing**: Her troops' uniform black.  Her particular outfit consists of tight black pants 

made out of a leathery substance from her own world. They stretch like spandex, reflect light like vinyl, are heavy and soft like leather, yet are none of these.  She wears a loose tank top cut for comfort. She wears arm warmer/wrist guards of the same material as her pants and extend almost to her elbows. She wears knee high black boots with laces and buckles to hold them in place.  They have soft soles that allow her to move silently, but are thick enough that she could run over hot coals without feeling anything more than a pleasant warmth massaging her feet. (granted, if she tried to stay there the rest of the boots would respond to the heat and burst into flames ^~)

**Jewelry**: Her only pieces of jewelry is her clan torque – a piece of thick silver/black 

metal that permanently encases her throat, and a silver hoop earring in each of her ears, with a third at the tip of her right ear (the whole one ^_^).

**Special Powers**: She is incredibly strong, and could beat Frieza in his third form, 

and hold her own against his fourth.

**Weapon of choice**: She prefers using ki blasts and her built in claws – which are 

basically the equivalent of having incredibly sharp knives attached to your fingers that you can use, yet still have your hands free for punches and blasts. She also uses her fists and legs with deadly accuracy.  She is trained in sword play, and always carries her two special swords with her at all times –swords that look like Japanese style swords with thin black blades made of the same metal as her torque, and silver etching on the dark red handles.

**Personality**: Hali is generally very quiet, yet her mind never rests.  She has a very low-

key temper when it comes to people insulting her. She has her pride, but to her it is beneath her notice if someone must resort to name-calling to try and win a fight. It is even more disgusting to her when someone tries to pull your family and friends into an argument/fight, and she usually laughs in the face of people who insult her family and friends, knowing perfectly well that the asses don't know what they're talking about. She is fiercely overprotective though, and is often called "mother" behind her back. (Though Gohan and Kitten are known to call her that to her face .).  She is intimidating to those who don't know her, but she is far more low-key than one expects for her race.  She is a widely acclaimed strategist, though she isn't the best when it comes to advanced Bulma-type science.  She is the founder and natural leader of the group – everyone defers to her, even though they might be able to overpower her in certain ways (she is much weaker than Gohan, Xe is at least even with her in strength, Kitten is more scientifically inclined, etc.)

**Personal History**:  As a small child, Hali's clan got swept into the middle of another 

clans' dual. The two families battled viciously, and Hali's clan was caught in the middle, fighting both sides in order to stay alive.  However, they were soon overpowered on both fronts and they were scattered.  Being only eight years old, Hali was spared as a child, yet was already Torqued, so no one else would take her in. Forced to live as a scavenger among her own people, she quickly learned the rules of survival. She grew to be a powerful fighter, and other already Torqued outcast children flocked to her. At first they were all wary of each other, having come from different clans, and no one would get along; but soon they had formed their own clan of sorts with Hali at their head.  They lived together, fought together, died together. One of the friends Hali made, Miial (me AWL), erased the engravings on the Bands' torques.  They became the Faceless Ones, which Hali would later continue to use as the name of her Mercenary Band for it's insinuation of outcasts and mysterious figures, as well as the deep memories attached to the name. There were only a few dozen of them, and none were very strong, all being children between the ages of 4 and 14, so it didn't take long for them to fall prey to the older Pyreat-jins. Before long the band was captured and enslaved, with the exception of Hali.  As a fourteen year old (no longer a child) she was the obvious leader of the group and was slated to be exterminated, but it was soon ruled that she was too young. Instead they sent her off planet, into an exile that would last for the rest of her life.  From these experiences, Hali learned what it meant to be a child alone, the strength in numbers, and trust for those who were willing to put their lives into your hands. This is also what drove her to be so protective, and she bears scars that she talks of to no one.  She never properly healed from her childhood, but then – none of her band did.

After being ejected from Pyreat, she landed on one of Frieza's planets. Her fierce nature and superb fighting skills caught the eyes of some of Frieza's lackeys, and she was further trained in martial arts (as well as beaten and raped while they were at it).  She responded by killing them off as soon as she was 17 and escaped, only to begin her job as a mercenary.  She soon became one of the most experienced bounty hunters/space pirates/mercenaries around. After awhile she began to gather her group around herself, starting with the twins and building up from there.

Her experiences as a child are also what drove her to invite Gohan to join the band, and take care of him.  She loves children, and comes as close to doting on Gohan as her personality allows.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~Kitten~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ 

**Name**: Siikae'tenhae Miikea-alish (p: sigh KAY ten high, me KAY ah leash) 

**-nicknames**: "Kitten" by most, "Nee-chan" by Gohan (No, this character is NOT 

named after or modeled after myself in any way.  Her nickname comes from the ears, the tail, the curiosity, the quirky love of balls of yarn, and her actual name.)

**Sex**:    Female

**Race**: Saeoli-jin (say Oh lee) – A peaceful planet whose people's strength lies in 

technology and agility. It was their technology that allowed many things in the Cold Empire to happen, and as a whole they are a very intelligent race.  Their culture used to be nomadic, but with the increase of technology very few still travel. They've built awe-inspiring cities with soaring skyscrapers, yet there are still thousands of miles of barren landscape.  Their planet is an ice-planet, which is why they used to travel, seeking food and shelter from harsh conditions.  Some still do travel, providing a backbone food supply to those more interested in manning the cities and industries.

**-Notable Features** – Generally very pale whites and blues to help blend into their

natural surroundings.  Their bodies are such that they can withstand the extreme cold easily.  They can adapt to most climates easily enough, though they are more comfortable in colder climates, and inclined to heat stroke in hot climates. They have large furry ears (think Inuyasha) and their noses are simple slits in their faces with membranes covering them. (Think a Krillin who can still smell ^__~)  They have cat-like tails and are covered with a very downy (and basically invisible) fur.

**Age**:  joins at 13, meets Gohan at 17, Earth at 26

**Physical description**

**-hair**: Long white hair that is normally worn loose, though when she's working she 

braids it or puts it up in some sort of ponytail or coil to keep it out of her face and out of the grease.  Her hair is very soft and silky, and is her primary vanity. 

-**eyes**:  Slanted upwards and brilliant violet, no pupils

**-skin**:   extremely pale ice blue down fur, though the fur is basically invisible to the eye.  

The insides of her ears are also a pale silver, as is all exposed skin.

-**face**:   slender, high cheekbones, pointed chin, no nose, full luscious lips of a pale 

silver.

-**build**: Lithe and slender, agile rather than muscular.

**-height**: 5'6"

**-scars/tattoos**: She has several very minor battle scars, but none that one can really see 

given that her scar tissue is silver, and her skin is such a pale blue. She is so fast moving that she can generally avoid getting hit, and, being the physically weakest of the force, she is more often in the ship giving the troops orders or behind the lines somewhere doing more technologically challenging tasks. She, like everyone else, has the Company tattoo on her cheek.

-**miscellaneous**: Very agile and quick, but not incredibly strong. She is attractive, with a 

slim body and long legs. She brings in mind one of those slender fantasy Ice Sprites, really. Oh, and don't forget – her breasts are very small, for the same reason that she has no nose – it's because they would be likely to get frostbitten, and it's a racial adaptation to the extreme temperature.  She also has a cat-like tail – the long-haired, fluffy variety.

**Clothing**: Black like the rest of the team, which contrasts strongly to her extreme 

paleness, making her look very delicate and carved of ice, easy to shatter with the slightest touch – which is really too bad for anyone who makes that assumption^~. Because she isn't quite so much of a warrior, her outfit isn't so battle oriented, though its still quite serviceable in a fight.  She wears a long pair of silk-type pants that float around her and, in fact, looks exactly like a floor length skirt.  She can move in them with ease, and they don't hinder her movements – though she can't wear them under her coveralls…  Her shirt is a black spaghetti strap tank top that bares her midriff. 

**Jewelry:** She wears a single lavender ring made of a local precious metal on her right 

hand thumb, and has four silver hoops in her right ear, three in her left.

**Special Powers**: Incredibly fast and intelligent, she is the scientific brains behind their 

operation.  Though Hali is the strategist, its Kitten who modifies the ship they use, processes any money they get, analyzes who and what precisely they are going to be up against, etc. She also designs weapons for the less ki dependent (such as herself) that make her slightly more able to stand against the stronger forces – she also sells them, for a large profit. She is very fast and agile, so she is often the one sent in to disable alarms and such – as she is also the one they can count on not to set of the self destruct on accident ^__^.

**Weapons:** She's made a plethora of specialty guns and the like, though she can use her ki 

as well. She is skilled in martial arts, but her lack of strength (in comparison to the others) generally puts her at the disadvantage, though her agility brings her back into consideration, and generally gives her enough time to get a big enough break to blast her opponent with whatever gun happens to be strapped to her waist at the time. (she has so many of them!^^) All in all, her favorite weapon is her own intelligence, and it's what she most often relies on. She is clever and can think on her feet, even if she can't strategize as well as Hali.  She is far more intelligent than Bulma ever was, even accounting for age differences…

**Personality:** Hyper and talkative, her clear ringing tones are often heard ringing out over 

the ship.  She is overly playful, yet no one begrudges her. Of the group, only Kae had a less traumatic/dramatic childhood (no more than a normal kid, in fact) so she is the one they turn to when they need cheering up. She's always teasing everyone – even Hali - and can get away with a lot more than some of the others. With the exception of Gohan, she is the youngest on the team, and thus becomes Gohan's chief friend. She's also a type of older sister for him, and he eventually starts calling her nee-chan, which means big sister.  She is also very close to Xe, who considers her his onna - not romantically: it's an issue of 'territory', shall we say…  There will never be romance between the two!  She is like the chibi Gohan to Xe's Piccolo – maybe not an _only_ friend at this point, but definitely a very close one.

**Personal History**: There was very little trauma in the life of Siikae'tenhae Miikea-alish 

beyond simple childhood disagreements. Even as a child among a race of intellectual beings, she was known for innovativeness, curiosity, talent, and intelligence.  She joined the group after reaching adulthood and finding the planet too small and boring and without means of further expanding her knowledge. They took her on because they were looking for a mechanic type person to help maintain things, and ended up getting much more than they bargained for^__~.

**~~~~~~~~~~~~~~The Twins~~~~~~~~~~~~~~**

Sassy and Ryl

**Name:  **Sk'zh'nn T'k (p: ska SHAYN, talk)****

**-nicknames:** "Sassy" or "Sass" (also, she and her brother together are often known collectively as "The Twins", being that they _are _twins, and operate as a team.) *a note, the reason her nickname seems so normal, etc, is because Hali was unable to produce the sounds required to pronounce Sassy's actual name.  As a result, she got the catchy nickname. ^__~ (same goes for Ryl)

**Sex:     **Female****

**Race:  **Tk'z-jin (tec AH zhin (you slur it) – or if it gets too annoying, do what Lexi and I 

did and just shorten it to 'T K Z' for short. ^__~):  Tk'z-sei is a combination of deserts and jungles.  Most Tk'z-jins live on the outskirts of the jungles, able to get water from the jungle and hunt both the desert and the forest.  Their culture is very much like that of the ancient South American cultures, complete with sacrifices to the God of the Twin Suns.  Needless to say, they weren't a very advanced race.  When Frieza came to Tk'z, the people were sure that he was some sort of god, much to his amusement.  They brought him offerings of precious metals from their planet, as well as slaves and sacrifices.  He used and abused them, then wiped them out after he milked them for all they were worth.  The race is basically extinct except for the twins, given that they didn't have space technology, and the few slaves that Frieza took didn't last very long, though there might still be a few floating around out there (it doesn't really matter one way or another, though).****

**-Notable features: **Tk'z-jins are a vaguely lizard-like race, with metallic gold or 

bronze scales covering their entire bodies for protection.  The sun and the heat don't bother them at all, though extreme cold can kill them.  Their ears are invisible to the eye, like a reptile's, and their eyes are upswept and blink sideways.  The natural colors for eyes range from yellow to brown to green.  Their hair ranges the same colors, and is worn in a rather peculiar style – warriors are bald except one ponytail or braid they wear on the back of the head, the longer the more powerful and important the warrior, and bangs are a mark of a sacrifice – it takes a special, and rather painful, ritual for them to grow.  Everyone else is bald, males and females alike.  They also have a thin supple tail – very powerful warriors might have two.****

**Physical description**

**-hair: **bald except for a single dark green ponytail coming from the back/top of her head 

that reaches mid back, and two long strands of hair that frame her face.

**-eyes: **Bright crystal green with flecks of yellow and slit pupils

**-skin: **covered in tiny golden scales, smooth, metallic, yet warm like human flesh. The 

scales are shaped like hexagons, and in the space of a fingernail there are around four or five

**-face: **Think of the prettiest supermodel you know, take off the ears and replace them

with reptilian membrane covered holes, replace the eyebrows with simple ridges, and you have yourself Sassy. (oh, and don't forget those scales!^__^)

**-build: **humanoid, she is lithe and flexible, with obvious muscles. She has rounded hips, 

full breasts, and a very dangerous air about her.

**-scars/tattoos: **The normal company tattoo. She has a scar along her left side, along her 

right shoulder, and various battle scars that would take several pages to detail out.

**-height: **6'1"

**-age: **joins at 17, meets Gohan at 27, Earth at 36

**-miscellaneous: **Along with the twin tails (complete with poisoned stingers on the 

end that are deadly built-in weapons), Sassy also has a curious drawl when she speaks that she shares with her twin Ryl.

**Clothing: **Oooooh- bet you couldn't guess that she wears black like everyone else! ^__^  

Her top is a curious piece of black cloth that wraps around her neck, covers her chest, and ties around her waist. (think of taking a really wide silk scarf, placing it around your neck at the center, crossing it over your chest, then crossing it again in the back, then wrapping the ends several times around your waist in place of a sash.) She wears baggy black pants that tuck into calf-high black boots that resemble something in between hiking boots and Goth boots, though she fights bare foot. She wears black fingerless gloves as well.****

**Jewelry: **She wears a variety of bracelets and bangles around both wrists that whenever 

she moves her arms they clink together like wind chimes – which she loves because of the way they chime as she kills people. ~_~ She also wears them around her ankles when she's fighting, though it doesn't work when she has her shoes on…****

**Special Powers: **Sassy is a strong fighter, though not as strong as Hali or Gohan. Her 

power lies more in her ability to double team with Ryl than in her individual strength: together they can carry out a variety of strange attacks that more than double their original power, making the two together a deadly force to be reckoned with. They also share a mental bond, so they can share their thoughts. This way they can plan which attacks to use as they fight, as well as be a useful communication network if the team every splits in two.****

**Weapons: **Sassy and Ryl use fists and ki blasts, which are the easiest and most effective 

to double team with. They can use swords and Kitten's guns, but it undermines their abilities to play off each other, though it increases their power separately.  They also make use of their long tails, and have a reputation for their abilities with them.****

**Personality: **Sarcastic, cynical, and all around bitch queen, she is none-the-less a nice 

person if you can shrug off her constant barbs. She will make sarcastic comments whenever she can, especially in the middle of battle, but they often serve a purpose – such as telling someone to do something in a way that they might understand without necessarily alerting the enemy. She tends to turn the cold shoulder to people outside her comfort zone, and it sometimes takes her a while to warm up to new people.  However, once she gets to know you, and once you get used to her way of dealing with people, she can be your greatest friend.  She is gruff but caring, and loves deeply – one of the reasons she tries to keep people away from her is to keep from being hurt.  She is fiery, full of life, sarcastic, and the all around "bad side" of the Twins, while Ryl is her "better half".****

**Personal History: **She and her brother were selected to be sacrifices to Frieza right 

before he destroyed their planet.  They went through the ritual, which is why they have bangs, and were prepared for the rising of the sun.  The two reasons she and Ryl were chosen were 1, they were twins, a very rare occurrence and looked upon as a blessing of the gods – who govern over the *_Twin Suns*_ (and therefore to be returned to the gods specially) and 2, because they were very powerful warriors and important sacrificial material.  They managed to escape when, while performing their cleansing bath, they overheard Frieza ordering his men to destroy the planet.  Not anxious to be killed on a mountaintop, they killed a few henchmen and stole a pod, escaping before anyone noticed.  They met with Hali when, after landing on a hostile planet, she too was taking refuge there, fighting the natives.  Recognizing other fighters and kindred souls, they teamed up together to make the beginnings of the Faceless Ones when the twins were a mere 17. (yes, I know it's a bit cliché, but work with me here.)****

**Name: **R'lk'n'n T'k (P: RILL kinon, talk)****

**-nickname: **"Ryl" (rill – rhymes with will)

**Sex: **male****

**Race: **Tk'z-jin****

**Physical description**

**-hair: **dark green hair in a ponytail on the back of his head, most often worn in a braid. 

**-eyes: **slightly darker green then Sassy's – closer to forest green than crystal, with the 

same flecks of yellow.

**-skin: **The same scaled gold as Sassy's, only a bit more bronze

**-face:  **Think of the same as Sassy's, only slightly more masculine. 

**-build: **broad shouldered and muscular, he is the male counterpoint to Sassy's extreme 

femininity when it comes to looks.

**-scars/tattoos: **Company tattoo, and a variety of battle scars, including one down his left 

cheek that slits his eyebrow and part of his tattoo, and a scar from a stab wound to the side of his stomach.

**-height: **6'1" – same as Sassy

**-age: **joins at 17, meets Gohan at 27, Earth at 36

**-miscellaneous: **the same curious drawl as Sassy, though he is more deep voiced. (and 

don't you dare think southern accents!  More Celtic, actually – not really, but that's the speech pattern I'm sorta basing it off)

**Clothing: **He wears the same baggy pant and leather boot combination as Sassy, though 

his pants don't 'hug the hips' like hers do, and he wears a thick black sash around his waist. He doesn't wear a shirt, in accordance with his people's traditions. He also goes unshod into battle.

**Jewelry: **A thick silver band around his left upper arm, and a silver ring through his left 

nostril.****

**Special Powers: **Double teaming with his sister, as well as the mental bond. For anything 

else, see Sassy^^.****

**Weapon of choice: ***sighs* again, same as Sassy: he prefers fists, legs and ki because 

you can double-team better that way. He can use swords and Kitten's guns with skill, but while they increase his prowess alone, they undermine his ability to double team.****

**Personality: **Cheerful and optimistic, he is the exact opposite of Sassy when it comes to 

attitude. He loves life and respects death, yet doesn't get squeamish about killing. He is more merciful than some of the others **coughXecough** but only up to a certain extent. He can be extremely serious, and is most of the time, though he is one of the most often to laugh at Kitten and Gohan, and will frequently team up with one or the other to play practical jokes on the others. Despite their personality differences, however, the twins see things eye to eye because of their ability to see things from all angles.****

**Personal History: **As with everything else, see Sassy for complete details.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~Dae~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ 

**Name: **Daerentii Ahvmaelin (P: day REN tie, ahv MAY lin)****

**-nickname: **"Dae" (p: day)

**Sex: **male****

**Race: **Withea-jin (with HE): a generally peaceful people, 80% of whom harbor psychic 

powers of some sort.  Their planet is jungle like, and diverse in its animal inhabitants.  The Withea-jins live in small family groups that are slightly nomadic, and live in small villages, preferring tightly knit social groups over large, overcrowded cities.  The society is much like that of early humans, but they're fairly technologically advanced, though one wouldn't guess it from appearances.  Their psy powers range from bond building, to empathy, divination, precognition, telekinesis, telepathy, and even the (rather rare) ability to read psychic waves that are associated with certain objects (for example, they can track anybody anywhere from following psychic waves, and could learn all the knowledge of the person who had previously owned the object they're "reading" – for example, learning to fight from picking up a sword).****

**-Notable Features of the Race**:  extremely pale to the point of iridescence, they do not 

burn or tan, though to see them blush is a funny sight indeed ^__^.  Their hair is a variety of bright colors, and the color of one's hair reflects one's prominent psy talent (though you can have more than one, the hair reflects the strongest, while the others are weaker.)  Their eyes are large, and the colors reflect the secondary talent – a far weaker one than the first, but still able to be wielded with force.  Their teeth are pale white and as iridescent as their skin, with pointed canines.  Small and petite in stature, they hardly look able to fight, though with extensive training they can build their strength to almost SSJ levels.  They are intelligent, mischievous, and often have rather impish senses of humor.  They have strong personalities, but respect others' opinions, a trait that is lacking in many other races. 

(a special note would be that this is the same race as my best friend DemonDancing's character "Chibi" in "Getting Together At Last", and is actually of the same family.)

**Physical description**

**-hair: **metallic dark red, Dae wears his hair in a long braid down his back that reaches 

his waist, while several long strands fall forward into his eyes.

**-eyes: **dark blue with flecks of silver

**-skin: **his racial iridescent skin. He is difficult to scar, like Saiya-jins, so the scars he has 

are remnants of very serious wounds.

**-face: **thin and pointed, high cheekbones, pointed chin, small thin nose, pale arching 

eyebrows, luscious dark purple lips that are normally in what is, to him, an annoyingly feminine pout.

**-build: **small stature, wiry muscles that ripple under his skin.  He has a distinctly small 

waist, broader shoulders, long legs, and more than once has been mistaken for a girl.

**-scars/tattoos: **the company tattoo, obviously, as well as a large, beautifully done red 

and black dragon tattoo on his back, and a complex network of swirls and etching starting from the bottom of his right eye, down around the back of his neck, across his chest, and down his right leg.  He has very few scars: one long thin one across his chest that cuts through his tattoo, one on the right side of his neck where an enemy attempted to sever his head but failed miserably, and a rather pulled scar on both sides of his right upper arm from a stab wound that broke through to the other side.

**-height: **4'11" – the shortest in the group by a lot, he was a little taller than Gohan when 

the aforementioned first joined, though he was quickly outclassed.

**-age: **joins at 16, meets Gohan at 25, Earth at 34

**-miscellaneous: **as mentioned before, people who see him have an annoying habit of 

thinking he's a girl, and his rather feminine sounding name doesn't help matters much.  

**Clothing: **A tight black ribbed cloth shirt with a turtleneck and no arms, and black 

leather pants that look similar to jeans.  He wears fighting shoes that look like Krillin's, and black fingerless fighting gloves with silver studs on the knuckles that function much the same as brass knuckles.****

**Jewelry: **He wears no jewelry simply because he is scared that it would just make him 

look more feminine, and that isn't at all acceptable ^__^().****

**Special Powers: **His main psychic power is the ability to read psychic waves from 

anything – a very rare gift even among his kind.  It takes a lot of effort and concentration, so he can't just pick up an object and automatically know everything about everyone who touched it.  When he fights with an old weapon, he generally spends an hour or two before the mission meditation with his hands around the weapon in question.  When he fights, he remains in a light trance and responds mostly through reflex learned from the weapon.  He's very efficient, though, and an excellent fighter.  His secondary ability is minor telepathy, and he can link all the group's minds together for a private chat if he concentrates on it.****

**Weapon of choice: **Dae is more of a tracker/messenger for the group, but he collects old 

weapons used by powerful fighters, and reaps their memories while fighting with the weapons – however, he isn't nearly as efficient with brand new weapons, given that they have no residual psychic waves for him to read, and though he is fast and strong, he isn't much of a martial artist.****

**Personality: **Impish and mischievous are two words often used to describe Dae.  

He is always bantering with the others, and has a good sense of humor.  He is good friends with Kitten, and has a bit of a crush on her – though he won't admit it, and doesn't really show it for fear of being pulverized by Xe.  He is calm and collected on the battlefield, and is more than willing to protect the others, though they are often the ones protecting him.  He knows that his special powers make him a huge benefit to the group, but doesn't allow himself to be arrogant – though he sometimes uses the fact to barter for favors from the others. ^___~****

**Personal History: **Dae's family is a prominent one on the planet – he is roughly the equivalent of a duke's son.  Although his family still lived the same type of life as all the other Withea-jins, he had several opportunities that other's didn't – like being chosen to go off planet to explore for awhile.  He met the Faceless Ones (currently consisting of Hali, the Twins, Caiman, and Xe) and was immediately recognized for his special talents, and was happily induced into the group.  He is the older brother of Iiryn.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~Xe~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ 

**Name: **Xeliien (p: ZAY lee en)****

**-nickname: **"Xe"  (zay)

**Sex: **male****

**Race:** halfFaelk-jin (think falcon)– an elder race, one that is scattered over the universe. 

There is no longer one single culture that can be attributed to them and they are noted loners. By this time there are very few pure bloods, but the blood of the Faelk-jin is so dominate, that even a person with only a ¼ of their blood could easily be mistaken for a purebred by anyone that wasn't from their own race. Generally speaking the Faelk-jins stay away from each other and get together only for the soul purpose of mating and producing offspring. They dislike each other intensely, yet are willing to integrate themselves into other societies to a small extent. Far from social creatures, they are interested only in self-preservation, death, and mass destruction. They are a race similar to Saiya-jins in regard to their reception in the rest of the universe and their love of mayhem and murder. They rarely mate for life, but if they find someone intriguing enough they will stick around for as long as that individual entertains them, and even afterwards will offer a sort of protection for that individual (no one is willing to mess with someone who a Faelk-jin found amusing… gods know what's so intriguing about them… ^^). Purebloods live to be incredibly old, though half-breeds have longer than normal life-spans as well. However, the same sense of self-preservation that drives them also allows them to form a small amount of respect for others. Although they love death, they are willing to show mercy. Despite their love of destruction, they are more likely to destroy a city and leave most of the residents alive than to purposely hunt down and destroy everyone. They are the terrorists of the universe, yet also one of the least ruthless when it comes to seeking out power. They live for their own amusement, and the continuation of the things that amuse them.****

**-Notable features of the race – **They are humanoid in a sense, yet they seem more the 

absence of everything then any one thing. A pureblood is so pale that it seems to absorb all light rather than reflect it, and cause any to see it to be put of guard. Their eyes are completely black, and the irises are so large that it often looks as though they didn't have any whites at all. They have fangs, their teeth are generally red, and they are generally tall and thin. Sometimes have wings or snake-like tails depending on what races they interbreed with, and a human would see them and think "vampire/demon".

**Physical description**

**-hair: **limp and smoky silver, Xe's hair is a thick shoulder length mass that falls 

into his eyes.

**-eyes: **generally described as red rimmed black abysses. (see racial description)

**-skin: **Pale white that seems to absorb light rather than reflect it.

**-face: **extremely narrow and gaunt. Sunken cheeks, strong chin, sharp blade-like nose.

**-build: **Very tall and slender, he seems to be nothing but smoke, yet he is very strong 

despite the wraith-like figure.

**-scars/tattoos: **The company tattoo, but nothing else

**-height: **At the very least 7'1", but possibly taller – no one has ever bothered to 

measure him. ^__~

**-age: **Extremely old, most likely well into his second or third century.

**-miscellaneous: **A coiling black tail that responds to his emotions, it can function as a 

weapon, and it's also supple enough to wind around his waist if he wants.  I will also add here that he is only ¼ Faelk-jin on his father's side, but none of his mother's or paternal grandfather's race's traits show up in him (with the sole exception of personality, discussed later).

**Clothing: **Black as usual. He tends to have strange clothing fetishes – at the time when 

he meets Gohan he's on his cloak stage.  He wears black pants, a black tank top, and a huge billowing black cloak that pins at his right shoulder.  He goes unshod, as his mother's people did, and his feet are very calloused.****

**Jewelry: **a long twisted silver chain with an ankh at the end.****

**Special Powers: **Incredible strength despite his wraith-like appearance. Generally speaking he can take most people by surprise in terms of strength against appearance, giving him an extra edge (unless they know about Faelk-jins of course – then they just run screaming^__^).  He is knowledgeable of many races, and is a big source of information that Hali and Kitten go to when they're trying to plan a mission. He is psychic to the very small extent of having vague premonitions – a trait from his paternal grandfather. He doesn't really know how, but he knows when something bad will happen, and every once in awhile he will give a random piece of advice that no one saw coming, yet will always be right. These, however, are very rare and don't come at his bidding, so they aren't reliable in that way (which frustrates Kitten to no end).****

**Weapons: **Xe prefers to use his own strength coupled with Kitten's guns. Hali taught 

him to use a sword and he can manage it well enough, but he finds far more amusement in simply shooting people down as they try and run, or beating the shit out of them… Kitten also makes him special items every once in a while, the type that make huge explosions and big booms, cause lots of damage, but don't necessarily kill everyone in the vicinity. This also amuses him to no end, and he takes a child's delight in chucking his precious bombs into the area after they finish their jobs. One could say it's his signature… ^__^****

**Personality: **At first glance he's quiet, measuring, and utterly evil. He has a love for 

destruction that's almost palpable, and is worse than Vegeta when it comes to pointless killings.  His cool approach to everything gives him the appearance of being on uber evil mode, yet he can be kind once in awhile... By far the most vindictive in the group, he has the highest death count to his name. His child-like glee towards destruction meant that he and Kitten became friends quickly after he found out that she shared his fascination with killing devices and big booms: They both share interesting weapon ideas, she makes them, he tests them. His sense of loyalty comes from his mother's side so he's plenty willing to hang around even when things get dull. (which isn't very often when you're one of the most sought after groups of mercenaries in the universe, and when your crew mates are so eclectic and rambunctious ^__~). He finds the Faceless Ones an endless source of amusement, and has strong friendships with them all. He is wiser than most of the group – being the oldest by far - and though quiet most of the time, when it comes to death his is the loudest voice.  He also has a sense of humor one wouldn't expect in such a man.  He'll pipe up with arbitrary, innocuous statements in the middle of a heated debate, often breaking the tension – which is odd, seeing how much he loves conflict…  Ah the joys of hybrids and their personality matrices.  (he's very interested when he finds out Gohan is a hybrid too, and seeks Gohan out eventually to have a conversation about it – which throws Gohan off at first, but makes it so that he's completely at his ease around the other hybrid later on.)****

**Personal History: **Xe's mother was a Hiko-jin, and his father was half Faelk-jin, half Riedoli-jin.  His father visited the planet on a whim, and the local woman caught his eye.  He sexed her then left to find something better to do. .  As a bastard child of a different race, as a kid Xe was singled out to be scorned and avoided. Everyone on the planet was scared to death of him, so they avoided him at all costs. This made for a very lonely childhood, and it was only his mother's love that kept him loyal to anything. When he reached adulthood and came fully into his powers, he left the planet, taking his mother with him. It was only because of his mother's request that he didn't just kill the whole lot of them, but in his heart he vowed he would some day (he ends up doing it right after his mother dies, so he kills the same generation that he had problems with, not a few down the line). His mother died eventually, being of a far shorter-lived people than his own, and he was left on his own. He met Hali and the Twins while they were on a purging mission nearly two hundred years later, and found their antics amusing, so he followed them home. Literally. They weren't precisely _scared_ of him like most people were, but they were definitely ill at ease. He found it both amusing and fascinating that they stood up to him, even though he was more powerful at the time, and continued to follow them around. After awhile they all began to relax around each other, and Xe became an official part of the group, complete with tattoo. In the beginning it was a tentative alliance, and one that he wasn't sure how long he would keep. After Kitten joined up, however, he knew he was there to stay. (no, there is no romantic interest, thankyouverymuch).


	6. What Happens Now?

Warning for slight language – Kitten has a bad mouth. ^__~

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~Chapter 4~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

What Happens Now?

            Kitten stared at the door to the ship, waiting for the others to return.  She had raised her ki in a series of rapid spikes, alerting the others in code that they should return to the ship as soon as they could.  It wasn't a red alert, but it would stop Xe and Sassy from spending extra time destroying things.  The twins had responded right away - they had just been toying around anyway - and were on their way.  Hali was rounding up a few last survivors while Dae finished them off, having joined her when his own round proved easy.  Xe was apparently destroying things still, whether or not Kitten wanted him back.  He'd be back as soon as he was satisfied with the death of all life on the planet - no sooner, no later.

            She had just stuck the Thing, for lack of a better name, in a regen-tank, and was waiting to report her actions to the rest of the group.  Hopefully they wouldn't mind what she'd done, and would be willing to listen.  In fact, if she was very lucky, she might be able to stall off telling them until they were out in space with no other options but to keep it with them until it was fully healed. 

Granted, that plan might backfire if they got out into space and it turned out the creature was a danger.  In fact, considering her karma it would turn out to be a Saiya-jin or something, and _then would she get it…  But to the extent of anyone's knowledge, the Saiya-jin race was extinct, and that was quite a good thing.  They had been completely merciless, and very strong.  Not as strong as the Faceless Ones, of course - but they'd been mostly dead by then, so it hadn't really mattered.  However, their potential was uncharted, and they were more ruthless than any other race in existence - and that was saying something.  If she had somehow managed to bring a Saiya-jin on board, at the very least she would be cast out, and worst-case scenario would be that everyone would die.  _

But, as often happened, she was letting her imagination run away with her again.  She couldn't possibly have brought aboard a Saiya-jin, as her thoughts had just catalogued - they were an extinct species.  If only the others would get here!  She hated having time to dwell on her actions, to speculate the consequences… she usually gave herself a headache.  As if summoned by that thought, she felt the growing ache behind her eyes.

"Why don't those worthless asses hurry the fuck up?!"

"Maybe because we were busy eradicating all life from the face of the planet?" a lilting voice drawled from the now open doorway.  6 feet and 1 inch of glistening gold scales leaned casually on the doorframe, face and body in shadow.

"Or maybe it's because you're old and slow, Sassy.  It would explain a lot," drawled a slightly deeper voice from directly behind the first.

"Well if _I'm_ old and slow, what does that leave _you_ as, Ryl?" Sassy tossed over her shoulder as she entered the room and flopped down onto one of the dark leather chairs with a sigh.  Her twin followed her in, glinting a darker gold as he shut the door behind him and made his way to the seat opposite Kitten.

"Young, spry, and handsome?" he suggested, throwing Kitten a grin as he put his boots up on the low table that claimed the space in the center of the six chairs.

Kitten arched an eyebrow in reply, deciding that it would be best not to comment on the strangeness of arguing with your _twin_ on _age_.  Having lived two years with the five people who could most likely classify as the most eccentric collection known to the universe, one got used to weird conversations.

"So Kitten, why'd you call us back?  We were enjoying ourselves."

"I'd prefer to wait until the others get back - I only want to explain this once." She said with a small smile.  "It might get a bit complicated if Hali doesn't hear it first."

Sassy and Ryl exchanged a glance, looking very interested.  From what Kitten could tell they were probably speculating what the news could be.  It was a bit annoying when they started these telepathic conversations, really, but it was useless to try and talk to them now.  With an irritated sigh, Kitten sent out her ki again, and was pleased to find that Hali and Dae were almost to the ship, and Xe wasn't far behind.

"Kitten?  Did you do something stupid again?" came the concerned voice of Dae at the door.  "I hope you didn't blow up anything important this time, we already have repairs to worry about…" He trailed off as he noted the presence of the twins and the absence of the thick smoke that usually accompanied Kitten's accidental destruction of something vital.  She could see the worry ebb away, replaced by the easy grin that was usually present on his face when they weren't on duty.  He took a seat next to Kitten as Hali silently slipped in beside Ryl.

Barely a moment passed before the door opened again.  Xe stepped into the ship, ducking to fit through the door.  He stood silently for a moment, surveying the already gathered members of their group.  Kitten smiled as he glided to the seat beside her and sat down.  Scooting forward a bit in her chair, Kitten leaned in intently, sweeping her gaze around the circle to rest on Hali.  She gave a deferential nod to the chief before beginning.

"I found something," she stated without preamble, knowing that none was necessary and if given it would just be taken as stalling.  "When I was doing a survey of the land around the ship, I read a decently high ki a few miles off that was falling fast.  I went to check it out and found a creature wounded and dying on the ground.  It isn't a Keman, and it appears to be a child, though I couldn't tell because I don't know what race it is.  It was dying, so I brought it back to the ship, put it in a regen-tank, and ki-locked the room.  What should we do with it?"

There was a moment of complete silence as the others stared at her.  Her eyes twinkled slightly in quickly subdued amusement at the look Dae was giving her, as if he couldn't decide if she was joking or just plain stupid.  Xe didn't look as if he cared in the least, just lounging back on the chair with his eyes closed.  Ryl and Sassy were both looking at her incredulously, though Sassy appeared more amused, and Ryl appeared a bit thoughtful.  It was Hali she was worried about, though.  Hali had the power in the group, and her decisions weren't questioned.  If she said kill Kitten, there would be little hesitation.  Kitten hoped that the others' expressions meant a good thing, and that Hali reflected the same emotions.  

_It's difficult when the leader shows no emotion.  Kitten mused, watching Hali's eyes for any sign of what she felt.  _If only she would _say__ something…_

"You were stupid, Kitten."

_Alright, if only she would say something positive__…_

"But there's nothing we can do about it now.  No, I won't kill you for something so trivial.  Yes, I could tell you were worried.  I'll take a look at it as soon as it's better.  Let's move out, dead planets bug me."

And that was all there was to it.  The crew was in action as soon as the words left Hali's lips, and Kitten grinned cheerfully at the older woman as she headed towards the engine room.  Hali didn't smile, but Kitten saw the answering glint of amusement that so often sparkled in the Chief's eyes.  She hadn't _really been worried, she knew the crew better than that.  Outsiders might see them as blood thirsty, evil, backstabbing mercenaries, but Kitten knew better.  She knew that they were in reality blood thirsty, sorta-evil mercenaries - but there was no backstabbing involved unless it was referring to assassination.  They didn't turn on their own, and they didn't turn on a client unless the client tried to cheat them.  They __did have __some honor after all…_

Everyone fell to their jobs with the usual cheerful banter.

Hali sighed to herself as her crew went to work.  She should have known that Kitten would pull some sort of stunt on this planet… she'd been far too quiet for the last two missions.  Ever since the young mechanic had joined the group, things had gone from mostly business to partially business.  The Saeoli-jin was way too mischievous for her own good, and she often instituted problems of some sort.  But Halaen Miath was not known for patience falsely.  Actually, the girl was funny and sweet, and Hali liked her a lot.  Everyone liked her, and it wasn't as if the others weren't just as playful and inclined to mischief…  Besides, Kitten's intelligence and skills made her invaluable to the little party.  Though, that was saying nothing about her common sense…

Curiosity filled the Pyreat-jin, and she wondered when the creature that Kitten found would wake up.  She could only hope that it wouldn't cause too much trouble…

Gohan breathed in deeply, relishing the taste of fresh air breathed in without pain.  He had been awake for nearly an hour, and was beginning to wonder if he should raise his ki and alert them to his wakefulness.  He knew that would be a terrible tactical error, and it was only the thought of what Piccolo would say if he could see Gohan now that kept the little boy calm.  _"Don't be an idiot, kid.  Choose your ground and stand it.  If your opponent is stronger, you need all the advantages you can get.  Know the battleground inside and out if you get the opportunity.  If you have surprise on your side, so much the better - don't give it away."_  The lecture would probably follow the same lines as those - as so many (rather curt) lectures had in the past.  The Namek took battle seriously, and for a good reason.  At this time, Gohan could only hope to make his mentor proud.

A small smile gracing his otherwise blank face, the child slipped into a light meditation, remaining fully aware of his surroundings so as not to lose his small advantage.

Kitten sighed in satisfaction as she stepped back from the inner control panel.  She had finally isolated the problem and cleaned out the computer.  They'd been orbiting the planet for nearly two hours, waiting for the repairs to be done, and it was about time that they were able to leave.  Wiping a bit of sweat off her brow, she headed toward the bridge at a brisk walk.  Still in her greasy coveralls, the ice blue girl made sure not to touch anything.  Kais save her if anyone sat in her grease and ruined an outfit…

Her silvery white hair was pulled into a tight braid and coiled loosely around her head.  It was her primary vanity and she would be _most_ unhappy if the waist length mass of silken strands got dirty - or worse, caught in the machinery, forcing her to cut it.  Her eyes crinkled slightly at the edges as she smirked at the ludicrous picture of herself with Hali's haircut.  Her ear twitched slightly in response to her laughter, and she swiveled them to an upright, attentive position, listening for the others.  Her ears were actually one of the sources of her nickname, as they greatly resembled a cat's - the others included the die-hard curiosity, the playfulness, and the quirky love of milk and balls of yarn.  Laying her ear back into a more relaxed position, she continued on the march.  She walked with the quick, purposeful strides of someone with somewhere to go, her long legs swinging with an easy gait.

She reached the bridge deck within minutes and stuck her head in.

"Yo!  Anyone in here?"

"No," came the muffled reply from the corner.

"Oh, that's too bad." She said with a dramatic sigh, "I was going to announce that everything's set to go, but it looks like we'll be stuck here until someone comes back on duty…"

The ship was rocketing out of orbit before she finished her sentence.  Laughing, Kitten waved at Sassy as she turned around to head to her workroom, intent on getting back to the more important matters of creating weapons of mass destruction.

A/N::  Lexi: *cracks neck* another chapter done!  This one doesn't have many elements to explain, though we ought to mention that the Gohan portions aren't chronological with the Kitten portions.  In fact, Gohan is still unconscious in the regen tank – he's just in there so it isn't /all/ Kitten then /all/ Gohan.  At least, *grins* that's Kat's excuse.

Kat: Not an excuse!

Lexi: Whatever. ^__^

Kat: *rolls eyes* Anyway, just to mention the age thing – that comes from a conversation my twin brother and I had a little while before I wrote this.  It was quite amusing to say the least…

Lexi: *rolls eyes and points to Kat, doing the cookoo sign*


	7. the Awakening

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~Chapter 5~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

                        The Awakening

            "Yo! Anyone in here?"  Called a _far_ too cheerful Kitten in the doorway.

            A muffled "No" was the only answer that Sassy deemed fit after lolling about in abject misery for the past hour on duty.  _Not up to my usual standards at all, but it'll do for no effort, she thought dryly, hoping against hope that Kitten had been sent to relieve her and take next watch.  When the cheerful reply was that they could move out, Sassy used all the speed the Kais had blessed her with and had the ship in gear before Kitten could finish her sentence.  She returned Kitten's wave before settling down for some serious piloting.  Hali had set their course for a nearby planet where they could get some more supplies and wait for their next job offer.  Granted, it was also an ideal place to drop their "guest" if need be…_

            Piloting the ship with the ease of long practice, she turned her thoughts to their guest.  According to Kitten it'd been on board for 2 hours, which meant that its cycle was a third of the way over.  Kitten had been in to check on it once or twice, and nothing seemed out of the ordinary… Granted, they didn't know what race the creature was from, so they couldn't be certain that things were going right.  Not that it really mattered in the long run – they would just be dropping it off at the next planet anyways – but still, she, like all the crew, was very curious about the stranger in their midst.  Was it strong?  Dangerous?  Weak and pathetic?  Possibly… crazy?  Why had it been alone on a planet it was obviously alien to?  

            But she had a ship to fly, and she should probably inform the others of what was happening.  "Hey guys!  Sassy in the cockpit - we've just left orbit, and we're on our way to Arix'jyo-sei.  We'll be there in…" she paused to check the control panel, "approximately 8 hours.  Dae, I'm giving you the honors of next shift."

            "Hey!" came the indignant voice of her red-haired friend over the intercom, "that isn't at all fair!  I took it last shift into Keman-sei, and darling Xe hasn't taken it since first shift to Ryaji-sei!"

            Amusement lacing his words, it was Ryl who spoke up in reply.  "Dae, think long and hard about that.  Remember what happened?  Do you reeeeally want _Xe piloting the ship when we have a wounded creature on board that's completely unknown?  Not only would Xe probably kill it with his piloting, but __I at least would rather have Xe right there when the thing wakes up."_

            There was a moment of silence from Dae's end, and Xe took that as an opportunity to insert his own opinions.  "Well now," came the soft, dangerous voice of the Faelk-jin, "it seems that Rylon does not think highly of my abilities behind the wheel."

            Anyone else would have been quivering in fear at the tone, the voice, and most of all the person doing the talking - but not a member of the Faceless Ones.  Ryl's reply to Xe was as genial and impertinent as it had been to Dae.  "Yeah, it seems I don't.  I've never thought much of it, in fact.  Did you ever wonder if there was a reason why I took so many shifts, and you so rarely had to?"

            "I simply assumed that a being of my superiority was being shown the respect I deserve," came the nonchalant reply that said quite clearly that Xe had known _exactly_ why he had so few shifts.

            "Well, Xe," came the highly amused voice of Kitten from yet another corner of the ship. "If that's the case, then I'm _respectfully_ telling you to get your superior ass down to the workroom ASAP so that you can give me your opinions on the new model Gx5 that I've drafted up."

            There was a quiet affirmative from Xe, and Dae cheerfully relented to take next shift.  Sassy smiled to herself as she made minor adjustments in their course.  Life with the Faceless Ones had never been boring, and with the addition of Dae and Kitten it was livelier than ever.  Verbal spars were as common on deck as physical ones, and humor ran high.  Everyone felt completely relaxed and comfortable in each other's presence, a very valuable commodity in a group such as theirs.  It was amazing, really - they were all so different, yet they fit together like pieces of a puzzle.  There had only once been a death in the group, and Caiman had been much missed.  That, too, was amazing.  One would expect that a group of people making their living out of fighting would experience far more than one casualty in their entire 14-year career…

            But the Faceless Ones were blessed with considerable luck, it seemed.  Stifling a yawn of boredom with the back of her hand, Sassy sent her mind into a light meditation, while still keeping an eye on the monitor.  If something changed, she would know. 

            They were almost to the planet, and still there was no apparent movement from the healing rooms.  The regen-cycle's monitor stated that the process was still going on, and the ki-lock around the room hadn't been tested at all - which meant that whoever it was in there must have one _hell of a slow recovery rate, or they'd been knocked up worse than originally believed.  Kitten was getting a bit worried, to say the least.  What if something had gone wrong?  In theory, the regen tank should __say if its patient had died… But no one had ever died in a regen tank before, and therefore that function had never actually been tested.  For all she knew, the thing had been dead before she'd finished wrestling it in there._

            Heaving a deep sigh, she looked towards the door to the chamber.  She hadn't checked on it for nearly 4 hours… Something might have happened, and she wouldn't know.  Looking at the door, then the floor, then down the hallway leading to the rest of the ship, Kitten decided to say screw it.  She walked to the door and carefully opened it, walking into the room and shutting the door behind her.  For some reason she was _very nervous.  But why should she be?  She'd been in and out of here several times already!  _

She touched on the lights just in time to see a small figure hurling itself at her, clothed in a tattered orange gi.  Yelping, she barely managed to jump away from the thing, hopping up onto a shelf that held some medical equipment.  She stared down wide-eyed at the thing, wondering briefly how it managed to escape, before she was forced to leap to the other side of the room and float in a corner to avoid another attack.  Looking around for an answer to her question, the puddles of blue liquid and the shrapnel lying in disarray gave her an answer that she didn't necessarily like - if the thing had done that to the tank, not only would they have no way to heal anybody if the Thing ended up hurting them, it also meant that the Thing had to be pretty strong to break out of such a sturdy contraption while obviously not fully healed.

"Hey, watch it!"  She cried as it flew up at her, forcing her to dart back down to the ground.  "What the hell are you doing?!"

The creature paused for a moment, confusion flashing across its features.  She swore: it probably couldn't even understand her!  Damnit, wasn't that _just_ her luck…  She was casting about for sturdy footing - if she was going to have to fight, she might as well pick up all the advantages she could - when the thing stopped her with its reply.

A/N: dun dun dun duuuuun… Cliffhanger! ^__^  Um, I don't think there's anything that needs to be explained in this chapter, is there Kat?

Kat: *still miffed at not being aloud to write her own author notes* No, there isn't Lexi.

Lexi: Ok, then! ^___^

Kat: *rolls eyes* Anyways, catch you guys with the next chapter of "Dance Among the Stars" next week!

Lexi: oh, and thank me for posting this today instead of tomorrow – Mondays suck too much to post such a good story up on. ^_~

Next Time on **Dance**:

Gohan meets the Faceless Ones and explains himself…


	8. First Meetings

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~Chapter 6~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

First Meetings

Gohan snapped out of his meditation as he heard the door opening.  He had been awake for what he guessed to be 2 ½ hours, and he'd wondered when they would come back…  _Press the advantage… Don't wait for it to attack you, attack it first.  When you have it at your mercy, only _then_ do you ask it questions.  That's what Piccolo-san would say, and Vegeta-san too.  The door clicked shut again, and Gohan didn't wait until the lights finished coming on.  He leapt at the new ki, using the darkness and surprise to his advantage.  To his annoyance, the light came on before he'd reached the creature and it managed to leap away before he could properly attack.  Without pausing, he lunged again, taking stock of the way the alien moved, the way it seemed to be relying on speed to keep it out of his grasp…  He chased it a few more times before it leapt to the floor and yelled at him._

"Hey watch it!  What the hell do you think you're doing?!  Fucking little punk… Show it kindness and it bites me in the ass."

He stopped in midair and stared in confusion as the creature again leapt away from his perceived line of attack.  Kindness?  Was it saying that it didn't mean any harm?  Still wary in the extreme, Gohan lowered himself to the ground, then cast about quickly for the appropriate way to frame his questions.  Finally he decided that he'd better apologize to it - he _had_ attacked, after all.  Executing a quick bow, he was looking the creature in the eye again before it had a chance to attack his unguarded back.

"Gomen nasai." He said softly in Japanese, before remembering that it probably couldn't understand him.  "I'm sorry." He repeated, carefully annunciating the words of the Universal language.  "I did not know if you were friend or foe - I've had terrible luck with all the aliens I've ever met."

The creature stared at him, mouth slightly agape.  Seeing no forthcoming response, he continued on nervously.  "My name is Son Gohan.  I am from Chikuu-sei."

Kitten blinked a few times.  Alright, this thing was weird!  First it chased her, then it bowed, and then it said something in a different tongue, only to correct itself and apologize in proper Universal.  When it went on to state that it was from Chikuu-sei, Kitten got even more confused.  She made a point of knowing just about everything there was to know about the planets in the Northern Quadrant where they usually did business - she knew that Chikuu-sei was a backwater planet without space travel, completely harmless and no threat at all to anyone.  A scan of the planet from The Cold Empire, done some 40 years back, showed that creatures with meager kis that rarely topped 5 - though there were warriors who'd pulled their kis into the 100s - inhabited it.  Still, it wasn't even a fraction of the power at Kitten's disposal, and she was the weakest member of the Faceless Ones.  So if this thing - a male child if she remembered Chikuu-jin anatomy correctly - was from there, why was his ki so high?  It made no sense at all… 

There was only one thing for it - a proper introduction, then a visit to Hali and the others right away.  "Alright Chikuu-jin, my name is Kitten.  If you don't mind, I'll take you to see the rest of the crew so that we can decide what to do with you."

An array of emotions passed over Gohan's face at that.  What did she mean 'decide what to do with him?'  A quick scan of her ki revealed her to be lower than him when he was fully powered up, but if the 'others' were as strong or stronger, then he would have no chance at all.  But… he really didn't have much of a choice.  It was either go along peacefully or fight with this one and suffer who knows what from whoever else might be around.  In fact, it might be best to see if he could fish out some useful information now - such as where the hell he was.

He nodded slowly to show an inclination to obey, but stayed where he was regardless.  "Can you tell me where I am, please?  And _why I am here?"_

She smiled at him, teeth glinting pale white against ice blue skin.  "You are on the ship of the Faceless Ones.  We'll be landing on a planet in about an hour, and you're here because I took pity on a dying brat on that sweltering excuse for a planet back there."

Another slow nod from Gohan, and a short bow.  "Thank you, then.  It appears I owe you a debt."  Outside he was calm, but inside he was immensely worried.  From his talks with Vegeta and Piccolo, some people held debts - especially life debts - to be sacred.  Saiya-jin culture, for example, stated that such debts were to be avoided at all costs because once incurred they could never be fully repaid until you returned the favor.  Nameks, however, viewed saving a life as their duty, and thus believed the only debt incurred was the obligation to do the same for others.

The girl surprised him out of his thoughts with a light laugh.  "Na, it wasn't anything.  If your culture does the debt thing, consider me repaid if you come along without a fuss and don't try to kill anyone."  

He gave her the small smile that she seemed to expect, though inside he was confused and more than a bit relieved.  _Well then, there's the solution to one__ of my problems… Now to attend to the rest of them.  She set off through the hallway, and he followed her silently._

Kitten was smiling as she led the boy out into the rest of the ship.  As long as he was willing to cooperate, this might even be fun!  He had seemed willing enough to smile, at least…  She would have him tell her his story when everyone was gathered together, so that no one would have to repeat it over and over again - that got tedious.  Stopping only briefly to press an intercom button and inform everyone that their guest was awake and to get their asses into the common room, they made their way to the center room with its circle of black chairs.

"Have a seat."  She told him with a smile, taking her own seat of preference.  He settled uneasily into the chair that Dae usually claimed, looking very nervous about it all.  "Ah, don't worry kid.  We're not _that bad."  He looked at her with wide eyes as soon as she'd said 'kid,' and she immediately wondered what deeper meaning there was in that word for him.  Maybe it was something bad, and she shouldn't be calling him that… but he was giving her a wry smile, so maybe it _wasn't_ so heinous to be saying that.  Ack, she should wait to analyze him until _after _she'd heard his story, at least…_

Hali was the first one to enter the room, a silent, forbidding presence.  She regarded the newcomer for a moment, eyes sweeping him up and down, coolly taking in the bloody remnants of the gi and the not quite healed wounds, before claiming the seat across from him.  It wasn't the seat she usually sat in, but it was chosen with care so that, as leader, she would have the best vantage point to be studying the newcomer as he answered questions.

Next came the twins, both slightly out of breath, and it was obvious to Kitten that they'd just come up from the sparring grounds in the lower levels of the ship.  They'd taken one look at the boy before submersing themselves in private, telepathic conversation.  Ryl took his normal seat, and Sassy settled on the wide armrest, given that there wouldn't be enough seats for them all.

Xe came next, a dark, silent presence emerging from behind where Kitten sat.  The child looked a bit nervous, but he was hiding it well - he didn't even flinch at the dark eyes boring holes in the back of his neck.  Even when Xe sat down between Kitten and Hali, the kid didn't so much as blink.  He simply regarded the Faelk-jin as one more addition to the group.  Kitten had to admire him - unless he really had no clue about what Xe was he was the bravest sonuva bitch that she'd ever encountered.  He was also smart.  Instead of asking when he was expected to start talking, or what was going to happen now, he simply assumed that once the chairs were filled, he could begin.

_Either that or he's waiting for us to speak first_, she thought wryly as Dae made his way into the room.  "I put the ship into orbit," he announced quietly.  "We'll be ready to land as soon as we're done here."  Hali gave him a brief nod as he took a seat beside the child, then turned her gaze on the boy, who was now fidgeting slightly in his seat.

~~~~~~~

Lexi: Ack!  Sorry for the long wait – I had a really big research project that I was working on, and I had no time for last minute editing and posting of this.  *cries*

Kat: *rolls eyes* Well, maybe it would help if you gave me the password! Then they wouldn't have to wait so long!

Lexi: *stares at her wideeyed* Hells no!  I've seen the way you've been eyeing some of my stories… I'd hate to think what would happen to them if you got control of my account. *shudders*

Kat: *stifles sigh* Well, it was worth a try… ^__^

Next Chaper:  **Story Time With Gohan**! (Will be out Sunday at the very latest)


	9. Story Time with Gohan

*Happy Beginning Note* I'd like to point out that the notes at the end of every chapter are actually very important to this story.  Unlike Lexi's stories (*coughcough*) these author notes explain certain important aspects that will help you fully appreciate the intricacies that go into this story – things you might not notice right away, or take for granted or a mistake, are actually important things that will come into play later.  Read the notes at the end!!!  *smiles* thank you.

Chapter 7

Story Time With Gohan

(or: Spiels Gone Horribly Wrong)

Gohan watched as the aliens entered the room and took their seats.  First had come a stocky red female who reminded him inexplicably of Piccolo - probably the serious, intent air that she exuded, as well as the competent strength and expressionless face.  Then came the two look-alikes who shimmered with golden scales, and looked nearly as tall as his sensei, though more willowy and wiry.  The looming pale man with an air of darkness that was palpable reminded him strongly of the prince of Saiya-jins entered from behind his chair, and it was a struggle not to cringe away from the intense eyes.  The last one to enter was no bigger than Krillin and extremely pale, with long red hair.  As soon as the short one spoke, Gohan felt everyone's attention focus solely on him, waiting for him to explain himself.  He fiddled slightly, having no idea what to say at all.  It just didn't seem appropriate to say, _"Hello, how are you?  I'm Gohan!"_ in present company…

"Who are you?" asked the serious-type red female, taking the initiative.  From what he could see, she was the leader - the others deferred to her, and she had the prime seat directly across from him.

"Son Gohan, ma'am," he replied hesitantly, before adding nervously, "called Gohan."

She nodded slightly.  "Well then Gohan, tell us where you are from."

"Chikuu-sei" he replied promptly, feeling as if this might not be so bad after all.

"Why were you on Keman-sei?"

He paused slightly, frowning.  Keman-sei?  That must be the planet he'd landed on…  "I was there for supplies.  I'd chosen the coordinates randomly when I left, having nothing upon which to base a well chosen destination."

She too frowned slightly, as did several of the others.  The next question came from the pale girl he'd met first – Kitten, if he remembered correctly.  "I thought that Chikuu had no means of space travel.  How did you leave the planet?"

"My father's friend, Bulma, is really, really smart.  She made spaceships based off of the designs of those who've come to our planet.  I, well I…" he blushed profusely at this, "I kinda stole one from her 'cause I wanted to go on an adventure again, like my dad.  It wasn't finished, so I had to do that myself, but it wasn't very hard."

The pale girl, Kitten, stared at him incredulously, and the red-haired guy to his left appeared amused.  The yellow things were exchanging a glance, the dark guy just watched him, and the red woman gave a barely perceptible frown.  

Suddenly something occurred to him, and he frowned right back at the red woman.  "You know, _you know who _I_ am now - but _I_ don't even know __your names, let alone what you are, yadda yadda…"_

The redheaded boy burst out laughing, the pale girl giggled, the yellow things were both openly snickering, and even the dark man had cracked a tiny smile - but the red woman just sat there for a moment.  Probably amused at his lack of tact, and his stupidity, he thought angrily.  Finally she nodded slightly.  "Very well, you have made a valid point.  My name is Halaen, the leader of the Faceless Ones, the mercenary group you see here."  She indicated the funny black tattoo that he'd noticed on all of them.  "This is the symbol for our group.  You have already met Kitten.  To your left is Daerentii.  The twins are Sassy and Ryl.  The last is Xe'liien."

Not for the first time, Gohan was quite glad that his mother had trained his mind to be so sharp - there was no way that he would be able to remember such names otherwise.  He gave them all a small smile.  "Thank you."  He nodded politely towards the one who called herself Halaen, but inside he was getting even more nervous.  _She said they were mercenaries.  Killers for hirer…  Kami, what have I gotten myself into?!_

"How old are you?"  Came the drawling voice of the male twin - Rylon, he believed.  "You look like a wee squirt… like Dae!"  The redhead glared and stuck out his tongue, muttering that he was 5 and 20, thankyouverymuch.

"9 years old." he stated proudly, tilting his chin up slightly.  There was a moment of silence, then a few more smiles were cracked - this time rather annoyingly condescending.  "Hey," he cried, glaring at them heatedly, "just 'cause I'm young doesn't mean I'm stupid, weak, or inexperienced.  I've fought in plenty of battles, thank you very much."

"Aye lad, but were they _real_ battles?  Or were they just a collection of children slinging mud at each other?  Forgive me for pointing out the highly obvious, but generally speaking a ki of 76 isn't enough to carry you through a _real_ fight."  Gohan glared at Sassy, feeling the heat rising to his face.  Unconsciously he began to power up, letting go of the usual restraint he held himself with.  He was mad at these strangers - how _dare_ they insult him, and the trials that he'd been through?  They knew nothing - _nothing_!  Had he not seen friends die in front of his face?  Had he not helped defeat terrible monsters?

"I'll have you know that I've been fighting since I was an infant.  When I was barely 3 years old I defeated a creature not even my father could, and saved him from the Dead Zone.  When I was 4 I was kidnapped by my uncle, and I managed to wound him enough for dad and Piccolo-san to do the rest, only to watch my father die in front of my eyes from the death beam.  I lived on my own in the wilderness between the ages of 4 and 5, being beaten into a bloody pulp by a Namek who thought that was the only way to prepare me for the Saiya-jins' arrival.  I got thrown into mountains just so that I would learn to fly.  At 5 I watched the man I'd come to know and love as my sensei get killed by the Saiya-jins cause I was too frozen up - he who was called "Demon King" stepped in front of the ki blast meant for me.  I watched four of my friends die that day alone, before my father came back to help us.  I watched my father fight Prince Vegeta, and did all I could to help him - ended up battered and bruised, but we managed to defeat the arrogant prick.  He escaped though…  Just a little while later, the last surviving members of my group and I set off on a journey for Namek so that we could bring back our dead friends - only to find some goon named Frieza already there.  We allied ourselves with Prince Vegeta, and fought the lizard.  He killed my friend and snapped my neck.  Killed Vegeta, too.  My father turned Super Saiya-jin, the first to accomplish that in a thousand years!  He sent us off planet because Frieza was destroying it.  All I know is that he took off after Frieza, and that daddy's still alive out there, and Frieza is dead…" Gohan angrily wiped at his eyes, highly displeased with himself for blowing up like that - I mean, his entire life story blurted out to a bunch of strangers who were insulting him, and had cheerfully admitted to being mercenaries!  It wasn't acceptable.  _But I'd do it again.  Serves them right for belittling the sacrifices that I've witnessed and made._

There was complete and utter silence.  Everybody was staring at him as if he'd grown three heads, five arms, and was dancing around like a trained monkey in a pink tutu.  Even Halaen, who had shown no emotion at all before this, had her mouth slightly agape, and her eyes very wide indeed.  The seconds ticked by, and Gohan was _very uncomfortable… why were they staring at him like that?  Now the heat in his face was purely embarrassment - his anger was long gone, and his power level had retreated back to 76.  He coughed lightly, hoping to break the silence.  "So, um, yeah… I'm not completely inept…" he said uselessly, trailing quickly to a halt when all he met was silent disbelief.  Okay, now it was kind of pissing him off again…_

Kitten's mouth hung open at the kid's litany.  If it was to be believed, it meant that not only was this kid _very experienced, he was also insanely strong for a child - not to mention a _Saiya-jin_… a little fact that he'd forgotten to mention before his spiel.  But still… Among other things, he either had very __good control over his ki, or very __bad control - she'd figured him for 80 at the most, earlier, yet when he was angry she could have sworn that he was easily breaking 80,000 and still rising…  _

And more than that, if he was to be believed, the reason that Frieza had disappeared in the last year or so was death by Gohan's father - a Saiya-jin, no less.  It also meant that there were still Saiya-jins alive in the Universe, a rather worrying thought, actually.  _In fact_, she thought with an insane urge to giggle – _I'd been thinking about 'what if he's a Saiya-jin' when she'd first picked him up… wow, later I'll have to tell Dae that I think I'm getting psychic, too_…  

But really: if he was truly a Saiya-jin child, he might actually be a worthwhile member of the group - if he wasn't a danger to them, of course.  And what had he meant about his father dying when he was 4, only to mention him again a few years later?  That was just _weird.  And so was mentioning going to Namek to resurrect dead people - something odd was going on with this kid, and it might end up being a very good thing indeed that she had picked him up._

"A-alright kid, let's say you're telling the truth.  I have a couple _very_ important questions to ask you." Kitten said, willing her voice to remain steady.  After all, she'd been the one to find him, and she was the closest to him in age…  "First of all - you said you were a Chikuu-jin, yet you just said you're a Saiya-jin.  How does that work, and why did you lie?"

"I didn't lie!" the kid - Gohan, she reminded herself - cried in horror, looking at her as if she'd insulted him worse than Sassy had done earlier.  Well, that was something to store away for future reference - he was devoted to truth.  Interesting… but he was talking more, and she ought to pay attention.  "I said that I was from Chikuu-sei, a complete truth.  I grew up there, as did both my parents.  I also said that my father was Saiya-jin, another truth.  He was sent to Chikuu as a child, hit his head, got amnesia, and grew up as just another (very strong) human child who for some odd reason happened to have a tail.  My mother is a Chikuu-jin, so I'm a half-breed between the two - a fact Vegeta always laughs at me for."  

Kitten swallowed.  All right, so he's a half-breed - something the Saiya-jin Empire had been _very meticulous about wiping out for unknown reasons.  What did that mean for his abilities and his disposition?  She stored that away for later reference as well.  And here he was mentioning Vegeta, Prince of the Saiya-jins again - first it was enemy, then ally, now almost like a friend…  What was going _on _with this kid?_

"Ok, and what about the part that involves going to Namek to _resurrect dead people?" came the intense voice of Dae to Gohan's left.  His eyes were alight with intense curiosity, and Kitten knew from experience that he was as eager to know the details behind the boy's entire story as she was._

"I have a better idea," drawled Ryl, habitually placing his booted feet up on the table.  "Why doesn't the lad just tell us the entire story, explain the details as he goes, and badda bing, badda boom!  We know everything straight off, without jumbled questions confusing us at every turn."  He arched an eyeridge as he leaned back in the chair, hands behind his head, looking highly amused that he had to state what - to him at least - was blatantly obvious.

Kitten rubbed her temple slightly, knowing that one did _not contradict the Twins if one could at all help it, and Ryl actually had a halfway decent idea this time.  Hali was nodding her agreement, and motioning for the child to speak up.  Kitten turned her attention back to the half-breed sitting next to her, and sat back to enjoy his life story._

For his own part, Gohan was a bit nervous.  After all, he'd just given them the roughest sketch, and now they wanted more!  But… it _was an interesting story, and it might mean something to them - it had seemed to him that the Ryl and Sassy both brightened __considerably at the mention of Frieza's death.  Was Frieza an enemy of these people?  If so, it would most certainly be a great way to win their friendship by telling them about Namek.  While on the trip to said planet, he'd discovered an aptitude for telling stories in a way that others enjoyed, and he had employed the talent well for the amusement of Krillin and Bulma.  Out in space this past year he'd again practiced storytelling often, finding that it amused himself as well.  Now he could only hope that this audience was as receptive to his talent as his friends had been…  _

With a tiny sigh, Gohan pulled his unshod feet up onto the chair and settled cross-legged, leaning forward ever so slightly in the way that he had discovered engaged your audience.  At the moment his hands lay comfortably in his lap, ready to be used in flamboyant gestures that helped illustrate the tale.  He took a deep breath and began his story.

"Like all stories, true or make-believe, this story has a great hero.  This hero's name is Kakarott, son of Bardock, Saiya-jin warrior of the third class."  _Thank you, Vegeta, for giving me _that_ piece of information… Kais forbid that something you've told me has actually proven useful for once._  "He was not called this, however, until his son came to the age of four - but our story starts back when the hero himself is only a child…"  Gohan spun the entire story of his father's arrival, upbringing by Grandpa Gohan, and the quest for the Dragonballs, as he knew it.  He didn't explain everything, just the important or funny parts - especially centering on Goku's odd strength, his tail, and the Dragonballs.  He told it with such animation, his entire face alight with the story, and the motions of his hands seeming to weave the tale into life… all six of the mercenaries, homicidal though they might sometimes be, were held spellbound by the child.  

It took several hours for the tale to be told in its completion.  In the long run he didn't dwell long on his father's childhood, choosing instead to spend more time on his own life, the tale more pertinent at the moment.  He told them everything, leaving little out.  He had seen keen interest in the tale of Namek and Frieza's demise, so he spent a long time on that, going over each successive battle in detail.  He told them of his own rather painful near-death experience with the broken neck, and his father's worry for him - would he be able to take the senzu bean properly?  Because, among other things, he told them of the healing properties of the little bean - failing to mention, of course, that he had some in his ship.

Kitten had been especially intrigued when it came to capsules, and had insisted upon seeing his ship at the end of the story.  He told her that once they were on the planet he'd be happy to show her, as well as the other capsules he had on board.  In the end it seemed to the boy that the air in the ship, and the mood, had thawed considerably.  They weren't watching him quite so closely, as if expecting him to lash out at any moment.  They weren't condescending anymore either - indeed, they seemed almost respectful!

"So that's what happened, huh?" drawled Ryl softly at the end of the story.  "That's how the bastard lizard met his maker.  I'd always hoped it would be slow and torturous - and preferably by my hand… but oh well.  They said he always feared death by Saiya-jin more than anything else - that's why he destroyed the planet even while they were working so very well for him… Serves him right."

Gohan smiled slightly at the nicer of the two scaled beings.  "Yeah, I was on the receiving end of a litany about _exactly_ what Vegeta always wanted to do to him… It was eye opening to say the least.  Some of the things he said I'm _still not sure are physically possible."_

Sassy gave a dry laugh as she leveled a look at him.  "Trust me, child, when I tell you that if what Prince Vegeta wanted to do to Frieza is even halfway as creative as my brother's and I… it would take a lot of bending and breaking, but we would _make_ it possible."

Daerentii chucked softly, shaking his head a bit.  "Quite honestly, Sassy, your creative juices at work are _not what I want to be talking about until we've landed on the planet, restocked, and are debating our next mission.  __That is the place for such a conversation - not around small ears."_

Sassy sneered at him, but Gohan saw her eyes sparkling with good-natured amusement.  "Look a bit closer shrimp - if you stand side by side I'd be quite tempted to point the brat out as being the taller of you two."

Xe'liien, surprisingly, was the next one to speak up.  "And I'd hate to disagree with the ever-correct golden child, but _I must point out that Dae's ears are far the larger of the two."_

Dae blushed slightly as Sassy tossed her head at the wraith-like figure.  

"And anyways, Dae-chan - I think he's proved himself fully capable of hearing that kind of stuff." came the insertion from Kitten.

And so it was, laughing, that the group went about getting ready to set down on the planet.  Banter continued cheerfully over the intercoms as Daerentii, who commented on their similar size allowing Gohan to fit easily into his spare clothing, took Gohan back to the sleeping quarters. 

~*~

Kat: *sticks tongue out at AAS* See! Can too get it out by Sunday! ^____^ LoL – thanks so much for all the reviews! And ah, I'm not miffed at you… ^_____^  But see, this is a nice loooong chapter, just for you. ^___~

Lexi: *grins* This chapter was a /lot/ of fun to write… ^__^  Couple things you might be curious about…  The reason that Kitten, Sassy and Ryl were introduced by nickname is because Kitten had already introduced herself as such, and both of the Twins' names are too hard for the others to pronounce – it's why they got nicknames in the first place. ^___~

Kat: And the story thing…  The way Gohan tells the story is supposed to really stand out – he's grown up a lot in space, and he's more mature than in the series.  His character is already being effected, and this is just a very obvious example of that.  And yes, this will probably play an important role latter. D

Lexi: *rolls eyes* Anyhoo…  Now they know that Gohan is a demi-Saiya-jin!  Expect yummy stuff next chapter!

Kat: Oh yea!  One more thing!  Did any one notice that "Keman," the land with creatures similar yet the opposite of Nameks, that had they're own Dragonballs – is actually "Namek" spelled backwards?  Just wondering… ^__~ 

Next On::  Dance Among the Stars 

"Touch down everyone.  There's some nice homey caves over to the left that I think will be a welcome change of scenery to talk more in."

_"Yeah, and that way you can see the lad's ship, right Kitten?"_

_"Why Ryl!  I'm surprised at you - you think I'd place my curiosity before your comfort?"_

_"Yes," Sassy inserted dryly._


	10. Fitting In

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~Chapter 8~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Fitting In

            Kitten pondered over the young boy as she expertly guided the craft toward the planet's surface.  He was strong, intelligent, and an excellent storyteller.  He fit into their team uncannily well, and he was already joking around with Dae as they retreated into the back of the ship for decent clothing for the kid.  She wondered idly if Hali would invite him to join their band - he'd proven himself capable, if his stories were true.  _And besides, 7 would be the perfect number for our group! Thought Kitten with a wry grin, recalling the superstitions of her home planet._

            She landed the ship without so much as a bump, choosing to set down as far from civilization as possible.  _Or rather_, she thought with some amusement, _as far from _habitation_ as possible - these people are hardly advanced enough to have a "civilization"_.  Time to inform everyone over the intercom…

            "Touch down everyone.  There're some nice homey caves over to the left that I think will be a welcome change of scenery to talk more in."

            "Yeah, and that way you can see the lad's ship, right Kitten?"

            "Why Ryl!  I'm surprised at you - you think I'd place my curiosity before your comfort?"

            "Yes," Sassy inserted dryly.

Kitten gave a noise of wounded astonishment as she coded the air lock to open.  Strapping one of her smaller guns to her waist as she went, she headed towards the fresh air and the chance to see this miracle ship that could fit into a child's pocket.

Gohan followed Daerentii into one of several cubicles at the end of the ship.  It was small, with a bed, a closet, and a desk crowded together.  A quick glance showed Gohan papers full of another language strewn over the desk and beautiful pictures of a foreign landscape covering what little wall space there was.  Daerentii ushered the child to stand next to the closet as he rummaged through it, talking all the while.

"This is my room, kid.  The pictures on the wall are from my homeland - my sister Iiryn created them for me.  The Chief doesn't care what we put in our rooms - as long as it doesn't smell funny and the clothing is always kept clean in the closet, we have complete freedom."

Gohan smiled slightly.  "Well, you can't exactly do a whole lot of mischief in such a small place, ne?  I think that freedom is slightly more superficial than you seem to think, Daerentii-san."

Daerentii chuckled, bringing his head out of the closet long enough to beam at Gohan.  "Yeah, you're right - but I can dream, hey?  And none of that full-name crap – 'Daerentii' is the name people use when I'm in trouble.  I'm 'Dae'.  And don't bother calling the rest of them by their full-names either - I don't know why the Chief introduced everyone so formally… it's annoying, it really is."  By the end of the spiel his head was back inside the closet, and his voice slightly muffled.

Gohan's smile grew.  "Alright Dae-san!"

As Dae's head re-emerged from the closet, Gohan noted the lifted eyebrows at the continued presence of the suffix.  "Here ya go kid, try it on."

Gohan took the wad of black clothing from the mercenary and, looking around for a place to change, opted for simply turning his back.  They were both guys, right?  His mother might have tried to teach him modesty, and it had worked to an extent, but he was still his father's son - being naked around others was nothing to be squeamish about.  

He pulled the outfit on silently.  It consisted of a strange ribbed shirt with a turtle-neck and no sleeves, black pants that were a bit too skin tight for him to feel really comfortable with, and a pair of black boots that were a size to big.  It was an _exact_ replica of Dae's outfit, and he had to wonder if they all wore the same outfit all the time.  Dae answered before he could ask his question, startling him into staring with wide-eyed wonder.

"Yeah, we all have a special outfit that we wear - we choose it, then we have copies made.  This is mine.  If we choose, we can alter them however we want, it's not so much as a uniform as… a personalized… I dunno, symbol?"  He suddenly laughed at Gohan's stricken expression.  "Whoops!  Did I fail to mention that I'm telepathic?  My bad…" He gave Gohan a cheeky grin that said he wasn't at _all_ sorry, but by then Gohan had recovered.

"Yeah, you're bad.  Should've told me earlier." With that, the child put up strong mind-barriers of the type he used when he wanted Piccolo out of his mind.  He grinned at Dae's surprised expression, arching an eyebrow at the older man.  "Whoops!  Did _I_ fail to mention that my sensei was telepathic, and that, as a demi-Saiya-jin, I have a rather minor gift for it as well?  _My bad…" He gave Dae an exact copy of the cheeky grin that had been in place on Dae's face moments before._

So it was that, both laughing, they walked out to join the others in the nearby cave.

A/N:  Lexi: sorry this is late and short – I had my hands more than full with a paper, and this chapter is a transition one – they'll get longer again. *looks pointedly at AAS* ^__^ I'll try to find time to get the next one out by Sunday this week, kk!

Kat: *glares at Lexi* we had this one done earlier, you know.

Lexi: *winces* uh, yeah…

Kat: *twitches*

Lexi: *laughs nervously, runs away*

Kat: *smiles in relief* excellent!  I'll explain the important notes for this chapter then…

            First of all, I'd like to point out the presence of the name "Iiryn" in association with Dae.  As some of you might know, Iirynallia Avhmaelin is a character from Lexi's "Getting Together at Last".  When I introduced the character Dae as being of the same species, we had a blast formulating their history together.  It isn't all _that_ important, but ya know…  It was worth explanation, ne?

            Second, I'd like to mention the Gohan/telepathy thing.  As you probably guessed, I'm applying two common elements here.  One is Gohan and Piccolo's ability to speak mind to mind.  The longer the distance, the harder it is for them, so once Gohan is out of the Earth's atmosphere they can no longer communicate without very intense meditation on both sides, which is why Gohan didn't try and reach home that way.  The other element that I'm working off of is the Saiya-jin Bond theory.  Gohan will have full telepathy when he finds a mate (since this is a Gh/V, I s'pose y'all can figure out who that'll be…).  He has the ability to block others' minds from his, but he doesn't have the ability to project his thoughts to anyone but the two aforementioned, and he doesn't have the ability to read the minds of anyone but those two as well.


	11. The Miracle Ship

~~~Chapter 9~~

The Miracle Ship

            "I don't care, Kitten - you can't go out and steal the supplies!"

            "Why not Chief?  I'm too fast for them to see unless I slow down!  There's no reason not to."

            "Shut up Kitten!  It isn't your place to question the Chief - if she says no, it means no!" threw in Sassy, annoyance heavily lacing her tone.

            Gohan blinked a few times as he and Dae entered the cave, only to find the others already gathered and arguing like mad.  He exchanged a glance with the other male, then sidled over to the irate Kitten.  He coughed lightly, trying to draw her attention.  "Kitten-san?"

            "What?!" she snapped, turning her vicious glare to him.

            "I, uh… I wanted to show you my ship - you can't go out stealing if you want to see my ship…" Gohan shifted his weight from side to side, avoiding Kitten's eyes.  He caught Hali's though, and she seemed very relieved at his interruption.

            "An excellent idea Gohan.  Kitten, you go look at his ship while I go _buy supplies.  That's an order."_

            It was with much grumbling that Kitten followed him back out to open ground, but come she did.  Hali took off with Xe and the Twins towards the nearest village, while the remaining three stood beneath the wavering light of the red sun.  Gohan already had his capsule in his hand, having found no pockets in Dae's pants, and not wanting to leave it with his old gi.

            "Alright, stand back."  He tossed it gently to the ground where it uncapsulized into his ship with a soft 'poi'.  Smiling proudly, he walked up the ramp, turning to look behind him when he reached the door.  The other two, for all that they knew what to expect, looked just a little shell-shocked - they were still standing there, staring up at the ship.  

"Oh come on - I'm sure you've seen more advanced technology than just this little capsule!  It's not _that amazing…" He grinned down at them as they shook off their stupor and headed up the ramp to join him at the door._

"Now what?" Kitten asked the boy eagerly. "Will you take us inside?"               

"Sure."  He replied easily, fingers flying over the keypad as he typed in the code.  "You can have a look around, if you'd like.  It's not nearly as big as your ship, but it was plenty big for just me."

He led them into a short hallway, then through a swift tour of the entire ship.  Kitten was amazed at every turn - this ship was… incredible!  It was a blend of technology so advanced, creative, and esoteric that she'd never have thought of it herself, and technology so old that it belonged in a museum.  And yet, the boy assured her, on his home planet this was all cutting edge, though some of the more advanced stuff hadn't hit the markets yet.  _His society must be utterly _fascinating…

"Ah!" cried the boy, jolting her out of her thoughts. "Here they are.  I was wondering what had happened to them…" He had pulled a small black case out of a drawer filled with sickeningly bright orange gis, and was belting it to his waist with the attached cord.

"What is it?"  Kitten inquired, full of curiosity. 

The child grinned at her and patted the black box possessively.  "This is the capsule case that belonged to my father.  It has just about everything that's important to me in it."

            She nodded and returned to looking around the ship, confident that she'd find out more about the contents later.  Walking slowly around the room, she stopped at the huge plasma screen TV.  She touched it lightly with her fingertips, as if terrified it would crumble to dust beneath her fingers.

            "Kais… I haven't seen one of these things since I was researching the wonders of the ancient universe!  This is in such beautiful condition, too…"

            The kid was looking at her funny, as if she'd just grown two heads.  "Seriously?" came the skeptical question as he walked over to join her.  "These things are so new on Chikuu-sei that they cost an arm and a leg to purchase.  They'd hit the market just three weeks before I left…"

            It was Kitten's turn to gaze at the boy dubiously.  "You mean to tell me that these are brand new, but the capsule things have been around for over 20 years?" 

            "Yeah."  He shrugged his indifference, watching her to gauge her reaction.

            "Wow!  Hey Kitten!  Get in here!" came an excited and unexpected shout from a room down the hall.  Curious, Kitten rushed towards Dae's voice, a rather anxious Gohan trailing behind.  What could possibly make even _Dae_ excited?  He wasn't into technology as much as she was, but he knew a lot about it anyway…

            "Have you ever seen anything like it?" cried Dae, excitement permeating his entire being.  "The sheer genius of it!  Who would've thought?"

            "…wow… Dear Kais!  This, this is incredible!  My god!"  The sheer ingenuity of the small object stole the teen's breath.  Who ever who'd have thought of something like this?  Awe shining from her face she turned to Gohan and held out the object with reverence.  "Gohan…  What do you call this incredible piece of technology?"

            Gohan had been amused at the way Kitten was exclaiming over the objects in his ship, labeling some of them with altogether different labels than what he would've used.  When Dae had called them into another room, Gohan had been more than a bit worried.  It was just pure luck that nothing had been broken or ruined yet…  What could Dae-san have gotten in to?

            He listened to the whispered, reverent conversation between the two mercs with growing curiosity, and struggled to crane his neck to see around Kitten.  

            "Gohan… what do you call this splitting edge piece of technology?"  The awe-filled Kitten turned towards him, carefully holding out the object toward him as if it were made of glass.

            Gohan sweatdropped heavily and face vaulted.  It took a moment for him to recover…  

"Guys, that's a toaster.  They've been around since before my great grandmother walked the earth."

Lexi: *grins proudly* the toaster idea was mine! LoL – I was going to have Gohan say "since dinosaurs roamed the earth," but this is dbz…

Kat: *laughs* Hope you guys liked this chapter!  I'm sorry they've been so short, but we're hoping that the fairly regular put out date helps… *sweatdrops*  

Lexi: *busily reading through reviews* gah!  So many anti-Videlists out there! @_@ Kitty-chan, they say they wont read our story if we stick Videl in it!

Kat: *gapes* nani?

Lexi: *nods* isn't it terrible?  And we try so hard!

Kat: *sighs* look guys, let's make a deal – it isn't a sure thing that Videl will come into the story since we haven't gotten that far – but I can promise with confidence that there will be at least 20 Videl-free chapters.

Lexi: *is crying in the corner* they hate our story so much that one minor plot device will make them stop reading!  Oh woe is me for agreeing to devote my time to an unappreciated story… 

Kat: Unappreciated?  Lexi-chan – we just broke a hundred reviews!

Lexi: *perks up* kewl!  Thanks guys! ^____^


	12. Aaaaah Crap

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~Chapter 10~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Extending the Invitation

(aka _aaaaah crap._)

            Night had fallen on Arix'jyo-sei, and the Faceless Ones were once again gathered in the ship.  The quest for food and supplies had been brief and simple - the locals, being rather superstitious, had thought the four aliens to be some kind of divine beings.  They had given up the supplies with nothing but awe, accepting the bartering tokens from the crew as gifts from the gods.  Needless to say, Sassy and Ryl were still laughing about it upon their return.

            "-and then the chief guy actually got down on his knees to bow to Xe!  What an idiot!"  Ryl crowed as he wrapped up the story.

            "I thought he was quite intelligent.  I didn't kill him, did I?" came the quiet reply from the lounging assassin.  "He was annoying enough to deserve it…"

            "Yeah, well, Xe - you?  A god?  Not a chance.  I rest my case: the guy was an idiot."

            "Actually, R'lk'n'n, may I point out that in many societies Faelk-jins are indeed looked upon as fallen Kais?" floated the soft drawl in reply.

            "You're just full of yourself, Xe.  You're no more a fallen Kai than my sister, if you get my meaning…"

            Xe didn't get a chance to reply because said sister was attacking Ryl, ruining any chance that the scaled beings might be paying attention.  The scuffle lasted only until Hali decided that what she had to say was more important than sibling rivalry - In other words, the two were firmly ordered back into their seats within a few seconds.

            "Young Gohan, what do you plan to do now?" Hali inquired.  Just because he wasn't part of her group didn't mean she didn't feel somewhat responsible for him…  Children in her society were looked upon as sacred, and harming one was punishable by death - by her standards Gohan was an infant, and she felt more than a little bad to be simply dumping him on his ass right after being nearly killed.  She was tempted to invite him to join the Faceless Ones, seeing how well he would fit in - but that was a decision for all of them to make, not her alone.

            "I'm not sure… probably go home and get bored out of my mind.  There's a very limited field of options for me, and as much fun as I've had in space, there's no way for me to keep myself fed, etc.  I know absolutely nothing about space and the other planets…  Hell, I'll need help getting the coordinates for Chikuu-sei!"

            There was a moment of silence before Kitten suddenly tapped her temple, nudging Dae and lifting her eyebrows.  Dae caught on quickly, and the group was 'wired' together telepathically before three breaths could be drawn.

            :_What is it Kitten?:_   Hali inquired, concerned.

            :_Well, I was thinking… maybe we should invite the kid to join us.  He's strong, dependable, and he gets along well with us.  I think he'd be an asset._:

            :_I'm not so sure, Kitten,_: Dae thought with a frown.  :_He's a child…  I like him a lot, yes, and I think that he's strong enough to help out, but think about it:  I'm sure he's got a family worrying about him, and don't you think a mother might be a good idea at his age?_:

            :_Oh please, Dae!  Weren't you listening to his story?  The kid survived _on his own_ in the middle of nowhere when he was 4.  I think that he can handle living with what'll basically amount to 5 older siblings and a surrogate mother.  Besides, by the standards of my race he's an adult, and should be allowed to make his own choices,_:  Kitten shot back caustically.

            :_This is a group decision,_: Hali said quietly.  :_I will invite the child to stay if you are all in favor of this move._:

            Ryl and Sassy exchanged a private glance before Sassy nodded and Ryl gave their approval.  Xe just shrugged and sat back, evidently not caring one way or another.  Dae and Kitten had a very brief staring contest, before Dae broke down and gave his assent.  The connection snapped with an almost audible crack.

            Gohan had been watching the facial expressions of the group for the last five minutes.  He could tell that there was some sort of conversation going on that he wasn't privy to… but what was it about?  No one had said anything after he'd made his comment about having nowhere to go but home, but by the fact that they excluded him from their conversation, he assumed he was the topic under examination.  _And _there's_ a comforting thought - a group of rather strong mercenary fighters have taken special interest in me.  I don't know whether to be highly flattered or very worried.  Probably both, come to think of it…_

            Abruptly, Gohan sensed the conversation was over, and without preamble Hali spoke.  "We will take you back.  Later, I will have an important matter to discuss with you, Saiya-jin child.  For now, you are to collect your things from your ship, as well as any food you have left.  That shall be your payment.  We leave in three hours."  Hali stood and walked calmly out of the room, not even pausing to ask if he was okay with this new development.  

            "Excellent!" cried Kitten from his left. "Someone new to test my weapons on!"

            Dae gave him a look of extreme sympathy before standing and walking toward the cockpit.  "Good luck, kid!" he called over his shoulder.  Gohan's mouth twitched slightly when his Saiya-jin ears picked up the afterthought "you're gunna need it…"

            Xe glided silently from the room in Hali's wake, headed for the meditation chamber, and the Twins both headed for the sparring grounds with brief waves toward the demi Saiya-jin.  Gohan was left alone with Kitten.  _Aaaaah, crap._

            Gohan was already getting used to following Hali's orders at the drop of a hat.  He wasted no time at all in heading back outside, Kitten trailing along behind him to take a second look at his ship.  Boarding up, he left Kitten to do her own thing, heading straight back toward his room.  He already had his capsule case, but he wanted to make sure that _everything important was still collected.  Opening the case, he took stock of the capsules that were already in there.  There were his orange gis, his purple gis, his special set of Saiya-jin spandex and armor (courtesy of Vegeta), his books, his tool kit from Bulma, his portable GR… the food capsule was still in the kitchen, and he couldn't think of anything else that was necessary to grab.  _

A glint of silver from the wall made him jump in horror - he'd almost forgotten his old sword!  It was getting a bit small for his taste, and he would've liked it a bit heavier, but it still had sentimental value and he wanted it with him.  Looking around again, his eyes fell on a family portrait taken right before Vegeta had come to Earth.  It was of his family - daddy's arm around mommy, and Gohan himself sitting on his father's shoulders, a book in his hand.  Gohan stared at the picture for a moment, biting his lip as he thought about his father the way he had seen him last…  Glowing from the Super Saiya-jin ascension, bloody, wounded…  He though about his mother – smiling, cheerful, strict…  Blinking back tears, the nine-year-old smashed the picture frame and removed the small picture, tucking it into the inside of his capsule case lid where it would always be close.  Now, was there anything else he was forgetting?

"Can we bring the toaster?!"

Kat: *sweatdrops* Uh oh!  From now on you'd better watch out for the toaster jokes…  They'll be a running joke throughout the entire story. ^__^  (Blame Lexi - it was her idea .)

Lexi: *smiles* and I'm proud of it! ^____^ LoL  Oh, and hey!  Brief cameo to anyone who can guess where the name for this planet came from!  It's a form of code… ^___^ "Arixjyo".

Kat: *rolls eyes* whatever.  Well, sorry that the chapters have been so short guys – it's hard for two really busy young women to collaborate on a story like this! /__\

Lexi: *pats Kat on the back* Ah, don't worry Kitty-chan!  They'll forgive us in a heartbeat when they see how long chapter 12 is! ^_____^

Kat: *smiles wanly* Or so we hope, ne?


	13. Why The Hell Does Space Have to Go On Fo...

(an early update cause I'll be gone over the weekend ^___^.  I'm sure you all don't mind, though…)

~~~~Chapter 11~~~~

Traveling With The Faceless Ones

(aka Why The Hell Does Space Have To Go On Forever?)

            Space.  The endless void stretching on forever - empty of everything, yet teeming with life forms.  A paradox, an infinite paradox…  _I should write a book when I get home - The Paradox of Space, The Official Handbook for Surviving Space Travel.  _

            Gohan snorted derisively as he turned his attention away from the window and back toward the books he had spread across his desk.  _These books are only a few years old, but they seem so ancient!  he thought with a sigh as he read yet again that space travel was impossible and that there was no life on any planet other than Earth.  _I really should write my own book, and update these tedious monuments to the arrogance of mankind while I'm at it.  I'm actually a bit surprised that Bulma-san hasn't done it…  I mean, she's in the perfect position to be creditable, and she's _been__ out in space… but then again, I'm sure if I ever told someone that I'd spent over a year of my life in space, visited three alien planets, and met more alien species than I could name, they would not only laugh_ at me, they would throw me in a loony bin.__

            "Hmm…  Chikuu-sei seems such an inviting place.  Full of doubters…  I don't s'pose you would care to explain the concept of a "loony bin" to me?  From the cynicism of your mind voice, I assume it's something bad and/or stupid."

            Gohan rolled his eyes, but didn't even bother turning around in his spot.  He had become used to various people strolling into the small room that had been designated his.  two weeks out with the Faceless Ones, and already they felt like some sort of hodge-podge family.  _Or maybe a fraternity is a better word, he mused to himself as he continued shuffling papers._

            "And fraternity?  What's a fraternity?  Your thoughts are always so sarcastic… it really makes one curious about you."

            "Dae," replied a rather tired Gohan, "would you _please_ stop it with the mind reading thing?  It's annoying."

            "Hey, I can't help it!  That's like telling a small child that they can't reach out and pet the large shiny object, or telling Kitten to stop obsessing about the toaster!"

            "Alright, I suppose you have a point…  And to answer your question, a loony bin is where they stick people like you - the off-your-rocker insane, danger-to-the-health-of-everyone-around-them type people.   I'm not even going to _try and explain fraternities to you - it's just not worth it."_

            "Hmmm… Alright then, kid."

            There was a moment or two of silence, as Dae stood in the doorway whistling cheerfully and Gohan stared down at his books, feeling a massive headache coming on.  Closing his eyes for a moment, Gohan slowly turned around to face the redhead.  Dae jumped slightly at the glare of irritation radiating from the face of the small child - Saiya-jin heritage had its benefits - and looked around sheepishly.

            "That's my cue to go, isn't it?"

            "Yes, yes I suppose it is."

            Dae grinned cheekily and gave Gohan a flimsy salute as he headed back down the hall, headed who knew where.  Gohan sighed and rolled his eyes, once again settling down to the papers in front of him.  _Now where is that book about nano technology?_

It was dinner time aboard the ship of the Faceless Ones, and they were all gathering around that same circular room that seemed to be the only setting the authors were willing to write the entire group into.  Each was being served the same nameless goop, a thick porridge-type meal - well, an _excuse_ for a meal, anyway.  The only variation between the bowls was the amount of nutrients and the density.  For example - Dae, whose species needed little sustenance except glucose, had goop the consistency of water, with a high sugar count; Gohan, on the other hand, had goop that was more like eating tuna from a can, if slightly more tasteless. The food that Gohan had brought aboard had gone very, very fast - as did all _real food to enter the ship.  It was a very rare treat, one that they looked forward to even more than a chance to kill people, and that was saying something._

"Sooo…  I noticed that Saeoli-sei is only slightly off course from Chikuu-sei - I don't suppose we might hop off and pick up more supplies, ne?"  Kitten inquired hopefully from the cross-legged position she had taken up on the floor in front of Gohan's chair.

"Kitten, you have no perseverance!  Can't you even last more than 2 weeks?  Kais…"

Kitten glared at Dae in response, sticking her dark blue tongue out at him.  "You're just jealous because the Chief might let me visit home while we get stuff!"

Gohan rolled his eyes and exchanged a glance with Hali as the two began bickering.  Those two… a miniscule lifting of an eyebrow from Hali elicited an answering smirk from the young demi-Saiya-jin, and he gently nudged the back of Kitten's head with his foot.  Well, ok, maybe it _wasn't so gentle… _

Kitten went bobbing forward, and it was only luck that prevented her goop from splattering all over Ryl's precious boots - which were on the table, of course.  When she turned backwards to glare at him he was resolutely looking the other way, innocent as only a Son can be.  Dae snickered at her openly, as did the Twins, and even Xe had an amused type of smirk on his face.  Hali's amusement was a lot harder to read, and most people called her expressionless - even her own crew and oldest friends often threw down the towel when it came to trying to read her.  But Gohan could see it loud and clear in the slight crinkling around the eyes, and the tiniest of twitches at the corner of her mouth.  She might be a master at hiding emotions, but she was nothing to Piccolo - and Gohan had been reading _his_ "nonexpressions" for half his life.  Needless to say, Hali was an open book to skill and close scrutiny.

"I'm afraid we cannot afford to stop, Kitten."

Kitten's head shot around, and she stared at Hali in open disappointment.  "Why not?  Why is going to Chikuu-sei so urgent?  It's not like -"

"Kitten, that's enough."  Xe glared down at the girl darkly, and that was all there was to it.  Yes, Kitten pouted through the rest of dinner and on into the next day, and yes, she made her disappointment _very_ apparent - but no more questions were asked, and no more classified conversations were brought up.

"AAAH!  Damnit!  Be careful where you point that thing, you idiot!"

"Why?  What is it exactly?  I've never seen anything quite like it before…"

"Give that here!  You idiot, this is a Gx6 - my special model of ki gun.  It's capable of shooting with a force equal to the ki blast of a creature with a ki of 7,000!"

"Is that all?  Why not just use normal blasts?"

"I'm surrounded by primitive idiots...  Just my luck.  Look retard, the Gx6 is for people with low kis or no fighting ability.  If you hadn't already noticed, very few people have a ki over a few thousand, and that's including the really excellent fighters!  If I'm lucky I can sell them for a high profit, and make lots of money."  Kitten gave Gohan her patented "no-shit" look, and Gohan was forced to merely shake his head in acquiesce.  Everyone had their own quirks, and if Kitten's was making weak weapons, who was he to say anything?

"Weak weapons?  Uh-oh Kitten, the kid's thinking condescending thoughts about your weaponry!" cried a new voice by the door.

The glare that Gohan sent Dae would've killed a lesser being, but lucky for Dae it only sent him stumbling back into the wall.  Kitten, of course, was seeing the world in shades of red.  One could literally see the smoke pouring from her ears as she turned a sickening bluish purple.  The Gx6 being the weapon in her hands, she didn't even think about what she was doing - the shot was fired before 3 milliseconds had passed.  

Time moves in slow motion: Dae stumbles back, groping for the door as he stares at the two.  Gohan advances with a glare that surpasses even Vegeta's Death Glare™.  Two steps forward, tiny hands reach for the redhead's exposed neck…  A blast hits a back, disintegrating the back panel of the purple gi…  Exposed flesh scorches, Gohan stops…  Turns his head to stare at Kitten's shocked face…  Turns back towards Dae…

Time speeds up again:  Gohan growled deep in his throat as his hands settled around Dae's neck, and he proceeded to throttle the poor alien.  He wasn't used to having to keep a shield on his thoughts all the time – sure he knew how to do it, but that didn't mean it didn't take effort!  And did Dae _really_ have to say that with Kitten standing right there?  At the least it was bound to hurt her feelings, and, as anyone who knew the girl would tell you, Kitten was never an "at the least" type of girl.  With a weapon in her hands she could be quite aggressive with her vengeance, as his ruined gi bore testament to.  Thank the Kais the weapon wasn't strong enough to do any more than ruin his clothes and give him minor burns…

"G-Gohan!  Are you ok?  I'm so sorry, I wasn't thinking… did I hurt you?"

Gohan half-turned to the anxious Kitten and gave her a ghost of a smile, absentmindedly continuing to bash Dae's head into the wall.  "Oh, it's nothing Kitten.  Just a minor burn… the gi is ruined though.  Luckily I have spares, and I _was outgrowing it anyways…  Don't worry about me."  His smile warmed a trifle before falling completely away, leaving a scowl in its place.  "Now, if you'll excuse me…  I have a Withea-jin to seriously maim."_

As he turned back to the task of hurting the small red haired male, he noticed the presence of yet another figure in the doorway.  He smiled brightly at Ryl, and indicated that he was welcome to come in with a jerk of his head.  Ryl stayed where he was, but raised an eyeridge in amusement.

"You're having a bash-fest without me?  Why wasn't I invited?  I'm the life of a party!"

"Well, a party might not be complete without you, Ryl, but this is more of a venting-type thing.  You know – I take out all the instinctual anger building up at his intrusion of my personal thoughts…" Gohan turned back to Dae, who was looking quite pathetic.  "Don't you know that Saiya-jins react violently to invasion?  You're just lucky I'm half-Chikuu-jin and unwilling to kill a friend."  He dropped Dae with a sneer, walking out of the room without so much as a backward glance, though he did smile and wave at the two still standing.

_Damn, these people are rubbing off on me…  I'm starting to act like them!_

Lexi: *smiles proudly* wee!  And so Gohan continues to undergo a transformation never seen while he was on Earth.

Kat: *rubs temple* I'm sure you all can pick up Lexi's ideas in this chapter…

Lexi: *big grin* heeeh…  

Kat: *rolls eyes*  Well, to explain the whole "food" thing…  When I first presented this idea, Lexi's first reaction was –

Lexi: *butts in to say her lines* what the hell are they doing with all their money???

Kat: *flashes a strained smile at lexi* yes.  Like that.  Anyways, my answer was that with so many different metabolisms and dietary requirements of the different species, it's way easier to do it this way.  It also takes less room, and come on – they're penny pinchers! ^___^

Lexi: *grins* why spend money on food when you can spend it on weapons of mass destruction?

Kat: *nods* exactly.

Response to Reviews: (Kat's Reply)

Alright, everybody is talking about the Videl issue.  When I first began to plan this story out, I did a basic outline of how I wanted things to go – so far I've stuck to it.  Lexi and I divided it up into three "books", with three different "sections" of Gohan's life.  This first Book is about Gohan coming into space, meeting the faceless ones, and really integrating himself into their group.  The second Book will just be a selection of different missions he goes on.  There will be at _least_ ten different missions, and there will be a lot of humor and action in those sections.  The third Book will be about his return to earth – enter the Videl issue.  I don't want to spoil anything for you guys, so I don't really want to say anything about this – except: by this time in the story, if a single plot device will make you stop reading, then Lexi really hasn't been doing her job.  (Lexi: *looks shocked* wha!? You're blaming _me_???  *cries*)  The two of us will continue pondering the issue and you guys can just ignore it for now – the story has a long way to go before we even _think_ about introducing Videl!

Oh yeah, and Lexi insists that it's Videl or nothing – she doesn't hold well with original character romances. ^__^n

Second Point:  Someone (can't remember who, sorry!) was pondering what Chichi might be thinking about all this back on Earth… Don't worry, we know!

Lexi: but do they?

Well, no, but…

Lexi: we want you guys to vote:  do you want a "Chikuu-jin Interlude" within the next few chapters, or do you guys want us to wait until a later date, or do you not care at all?

Third Point: Hey! Look!  It's a decently long chapter!  Not as long as the pending "chapter 12", but still… ^_____^  Shout out to AAS for reviewing every chapter!  And no one figured out what the planet name meant… *pouts*

Next On: Dance Among the Stars 

 For the first time ever, Gohan felt important and useful, he felt as though he fit in perfectly.  Among his father's friends, he was just that - the son of their best friend.  He wasn't "my friend Gohan;" he was "my friend Goku's son."

_I feel as if, in a battle, I would be able to be right there, doing my part.  I like this feeling…  _

"Calling all members of our elite and happy group!"

"_You might be happy, Dae, but that doesn't mean the rest of us are: **it's two in the bloody morning!**"_

Dae's wince was evident, even from across the ship.  "I, uh, know that Sass.  But it's important that we meet in the Room ASAP - someone in the area wants to hire us."

"Good for them.  They can wait until _after I've finished with my beauty sleep."_

"But Sassy!  They're going to pay us a bundle if we can do it within 48 hours…"

That certainly got everyone up.  

Gohan was extremely nervous, to say the very least.  He had, of course, been in life or death battles where people had died - but he had never actually killed something with his own two hands.  Well, as Krillin always used to say, there's a first time for everything.  With a deep breath, Gohan followed the others out of the ship.

And that's all that can be revealed without ruining the chapter. ^_____^  See you next time, for Gohan's First Mission! 


	14. First Mission

Presenting!  The long awaited for… *drum roll*  Decently Sized Chapter!  Woot!  Everybody celebrate.  

(p.s. sorry about the wait – this was ready on Saturday, but Lexi was too busy to post, and on Sunday ff was being screwy and didn't let her on the account – sorry!)

(p.p.s. since we're bothering with a beginning A/N anyways, we at DemonKat studios would like to reassert that fact that – no, we don't own dragonball z, because if we did the episodes would have a lot less grunting and screaming, and a lot more plot and badass Gohan.)

**~Chapter 12~**

**The First Mission**

Three months working with the Faceless Ones, and Gohan was just another one of the crew.  He acted and bantered like every other member of the crew - everyone seemed to treat him like they did each other.  For the first time ever, Gohan felt important and useful, as though he fit in perfectly.  

Among his father's friends, he was just that - the son of their best friend.  He wasn't "my friend Gohan;" he was "my friend Goku's son."  _I suppose that in and of itself is__ a form of acceptance and fitting in, but it doesn't negate the parts about important and useful…  I mean, sure, I've been an important aspect in most of the battles, but still - it was just to give daddy and the others more time to defeat our opponents.  This… this is different.  I feel as if, in a battle, I would be able to be right there, doing my part.  I like this feeling…  It's really too bad that I can't stay with them._

"Calling all members of our elite and happy group!"

"_You might be happy, Dae, but that doesn't mean the rest of us are: **it's two in the bloody morning!**"_

Gohan snickered into his hands at the obviously ticked-off Sassy.  He knew that most of the others were asleep, but he'd found (to his surprise) that he didn't seem to need all that much sleep.  He could make due with 5 hours rather than the 9 the others seemed to prefer…  Granted, he still enjoyed sleeping in sometimes, but he had been too restless lately - damn stored up energy.  This morning's announcement found him sitting on his bed, deep in meditation.  Well, alright, maybe it was more like 'deep in thought:' he'd given up trying to meditate twenty minutes ago.

Dae's wince was evident, even from across the ship.  "I, uh, know that Sass.  But it's important that we meet in the Room ASAP - someone in the area wants to hire us."

"Good for them.  They can wait until _after I've finished with my beauty sleep."_

"But Sassy!  They're going to pay us a bundle if we can do it within 48 hours…"

That certainly got everyone up.  When a mercenary referred to their paycheck as "a bundle," it was sure as hell a _lot of money.  Everyone was gathered in the Room within 10 minutes, Gohan included.  He figured that if they didn't want him there, they could tell him to leave - it's not like they would have any reticence about upsetting him._

Hali frowned at Dae as the others entered the room at various speeds.  To no one's surprise, Xe was the first one in.  Although he did things on his own time and answered to no one, if it came to an activity involving killing people, he was first to show his face.  Kitten came next, followed by the Saiya-jin boy.  _Good.  I was afraid he wouldn't show up… this might be the perfect time to see how well he actually performs.   If he holds back, or gets squeamish about killing things, I won't even bother inviting him to join us.  Ryl entered the room with a half-asleep Sassy slung over his shoulder - too tired to even protest against the indignity of the situation, though no one was really surprised - Sassy was adamant about getting enough sleep._

"Alright, Dae, everyone is here.  Tell us what the message says."

Dae gave her a deferential nod as he began to speak.  "Well, I think it'll be easiest if I just read the actual text, ok?

"_Most Honorable Warriors of Those With No Face,_

_            My name is Lord Qui'ado Philan of Giiyrasi-sei, and I humbly request that you might listen to my people's woes.  We are beset by a warrior race from Ried-sei, and we are merely merchants and artisans, unable to protect ourselves.  I have received information that the Ried-jins plan to attack us within the next three days and I wish to prevent this.  I know that they are after the wealth that my people's planet has to offer - we are one of the Universe's major suppliers of gold, silver, and jewelry.  But, my lords, I am certain with your excellent knowledge and information, you already know of this.  I tell you because I wish you to understand the direness of our situation, as well as our ability to pay you well for your help.  Please respond to my plea as soon as you can, my lords, for otherwise my people will perish.  
"And that's all he had to say,"  Dae concluded with a sigh.  _

Hali nodded slowly, serious.  Her crew all seemed to be similarly deep in thought, and she had no doubt that they were in favor of responding to Lord Qui'ado's request.  It was her duty to ask them, though, and she raised her eyes to meet each of the crewmembers' in turn.  "Will we accept this mission?"

"I think we should."  Hali nodded in acknowledgement of Xe's opinion, ignoring his maniacal grin.  She hadn't even needed to ask to know what _he would have to say about killing people…_

"I've been in favor of it since it first came through the computers." Dae said quietly, brushing a stray lock of fiery hair out of his eyes.

"It's a good cause, to say the least - and we'll get good money out of it… maybe enough to buy one of those model Au-24 computer chips!"  _Oh Kais, no…  Not with the computer chips again… doesn't she know that there are far better uses for money?_  "Or maybe we could use it to go to Chikuu-sei and buy all of their toasters!"  Even Hali had to resist the urge to sweatdrop, and she noted that the Saiya-jin boy looked highly exasperated as well, though he didn't say anything.

"Aye, chief.  I speak for both my sister and myself, for though she is too asleep to respond to your question, I am confident that we are of one mind on this issue."  

"Do us all a favor and beat some life into her later this morning, will you Ryl?"

"Sure thing Chief!  With pleasure…"

"Good.  Gohan, what is your opinion on this?"

The child looked like a deer caught in headlights - his eyes were round and he looked nervous, most likely feeling out of place in this situation.  But, as she had known he would, he finally gave his answer.  

"I'm not sure, Hali-san.  I'm not a mercenary, and I can't say that I'm completely familiar with your way of thinking - however, I know what my father would do in this situation, as well as my Sensei.  I've always sought to emulate them, and I would follow in their footsteps.  I believe that the right course is to help these people, as they cannot help themselves."

_Well, well, well… a thoughtful answer, one that explains why he thinks the way he does…  I do believe he is both anxious to fully fit in and understand us, as well as help us try to understand him.  Very interesting.  Hali nodded once and stood.  "We are unanimous on this subject.  We will be reaching Ried-sei in 4 hours.  Be ready."_

_And so we begin the second stage of the boy's testing period._

Gohan was extremely nervous, to say the very least.  He had, of course, been in life or death battles where people had died - but he had never actually killed something with his own two hands.  Well, as Krillin always used to say, there's a first time for everything.  With a deep breath, Gohan followed the others out of the ship.

Ried-sei was a fairly large planet, with yellowish grasses and ferns, a rosy pink sky, and a stream of red liquid off to the side of the landing site.  There were very few trees, and the ones that were there were strange shades of yellow.   All in all, to Gohan's eyes the planet was _definitely more hospitable than Keman-sei, though nowhere near the standards of Chikuu._

The Faceless Ones stood around him, looking very serious.  In a uniform black, their everyday clothes were traded for tougher, stronger versions of similar outfits.  At first Kitten had expressed worry that he might choose to wear what she called the "blinding orange thing," and had asked if he wanted to wear something of Dae's again.  Remembering the uncomfortable tightness of the leather, Gohan refused.  

Instead, he pulled out his Saiya-jin ensemble.  Having battled in it before, he knew that he would be comfortable and unhindered.  Although he loved his father's colors for simply being his father's, he had to admit that Kitten was right in one aspect – the blindingly orange outfit _did_ tend to stand out.  

As he'd come out of his room and joined them, he had to smile at their looks of complete surprise.  None of them had ever seen him in anything but the two variations of Chikuu-jin gis that made up the greater portion of his wardrobe.  Seeing him in long sleeved black spandex and classic Saiya-jin armor must have come as a bit of a shock for them.  He'd also set aside his normal boots in favor of the supple fighting boots that were a trademark of Vegeta's outfit, though his own were a dark red.  The only part of the outfit he was really missing was the gloves.  He could never quite understand why Vegeta always fought with gloves on – to Gohan it felt like his hands couldn't breath, and he lost some of the delicateness that was a trademark of his fighting style.  

To the Faceless Ones, the change in outfits was a culture shock.  They had seen his gentle, Chikuu-jin side often, And though he'd had Saiya-jin moodswings more than once, the outward face he presented had still been that of a Chikuu-jin.  In this outfit he looked every inch the Saiya-jin warrior.  To say the least, he looked _much_ more like a Faceless One now.  Hell, he'd even pulled his now waist-length mass of hair into a thick excuse for a braid - easier to keep out of the way.

Now, standing on the alien planet, Gohan was glad for the outward reminder of his Saiya-jin heritage.  In his gi, he would be too reminded of his human nature, the side of him that said he was still a child - let the adults do the killing.  And hey, isn't killing bad?  _Go back to your books, _the human whispered, _you're only a coward._  But he would be strong, insisted the Saiya-jin warrior.  He would fight, and he would win.

Hali's voice broke into the 9-year-old's thoughts, and he jerked his head slightly to listen.  

"Alright.  Kitten, what's the strength reading of these people, and the population count?"

"Ki rating is anywhere from 600 to 60,000, with most in the thousands.  The population count is about 700 million - an extremely small population count on such a large planet.  I believe it's because they're short on natural resources, making a selective society necessary.  Reports I've read say that they kill children who don't hold warrior potential, and everything my scans have shown me point to this as being truth."

The faces of everyone assembled grew stormy.  Sure they were sometimes forced to kill children too, but to terminate the life of your own offspring?  It was barbaric!  Gohan's glare intensified, and he pushed out any and all reservations he'd held.  These creatures were evil, and even if he wasn't fighting for Chikuu, he was still fighting for a defenseless planet.  He must fight and kill them, and he must do it without hesitation.

_I made a vow…  I will never hesitate again._

The purge was to be swift and brutal.  Hali sent them out with orders to find all pockets of civilization and destroy all life forms: nothing fancy, just kill them.  Together with Kitten, Gohan headed straight north to where he could feel a clump of several thousand kis.  He hovered for a moment on the outskirts of the run-down city, observing the creatures as he waited for Kitten to catch up.  

The Ried-jins were yellow and dun-colored, much like their planet, and they were probably the ugliest creatures Gohan had yet seen.  Large and lumbering, they reminded the child of gigantic beetles.  They had four legs, armored shells, and three sets of arms.  Their faces were otherwise humanoid, but it only served to make them look uglier and more uncanny.

"Ugly little buggers, aren't they?" came Kitten's scornful remark from his right side.

"Yeah.  They don't look like they'll be very agile, and I doubt they can fly.  They're well muscled, though; so watch out for their punches, I'd say."

"Sure, sure - now let's get cracking!"  

With a startlingly loud war cry, Kitten dived down into the swarm of Ried-jins.  Gohan rolled his eyes and followed silently.  He engaged the first beetle and was slightly startled by its agility.  _Hmm… might be a bit tougher than I thought.  He powered up and sent a punch careening into its face.  _

Death was instantaneous.  

_Or maybe not.  Granted, that one did_ only have a ki of 3000, and Kitten said that they got into the 60,000s…_ but there was no time to think.  Two of the creatures were coming at an angle from each other - and with 6 arms each that could be very painful.  He dispatched them both with a series of swift kicks, and without a pause rounded on the next that approached him. _

Within ten minutes, he and Kitten had destroyed their pocket and were heading toward another nest slightly off to the west.  This one was slightly larger, and had a slightly different variety of beetle-creatures.  These were smaller, and appeared more agile - and considering the surprising agility of the last batch, that might spell trouble, as Gohan warned Kitten - who blew him off again, of course.  _She's going to get in trouble one of these days, and it'll be her own fault…_

Again, it was Kitten who attacked first, yelling a war cry and shooting one of her guns with extreme accuracy.  Five were dead before she even reached the ground.  Gohan followed silently once again, saving his breath for the fight.  He shot a few well-placed ki blasts and landed on the top of one, crushing it.  _Just like an insect back home…_  

The fight was bloody, and had Gohan been a little less battle-crazed at the time, he would probably have been sick.  He was killing the creatures - sentient beings! - left and right, and he wasn't thinking anymore of it than the comparison to insects.  _When this is over, I should probably find some time alone to be good and properly sick…_

He and Kitten worked up a good sweat, and both sustained scratches and bruises this time around, but no serious injuries.  When the fight was done, Kitten walked over and smiled, breathing heavily.

"You're doing well, kid.  Keep up the good work.  Ready for another?"

"Yes."  _Because if you give me time to think about what we're doing…_

But they were already on their way again, this time headed for a slightly smaller hive of them.  This variety was the same as the first one had been, and the fight was easier.  Kitten boasted at the end that they hadn't touched her once - to which Gohan replied that the reason was because she was floating above them shooting them down - they never stood a chance.  She stuck her tongue out at him and flounced away.

The fourth city was different.  The creatures were more humanoid, with only one pair of legs and two pairs of arms.  Their ki readings were much higher - all were in the 40,000-60,000 thousand range, and all exhibited the ability to fly.  Gohan was immediately worried that Kitten wasn't paying enough attention - she didn't even stop to register her adversaries this time, she just attacked with a loud cry.  Their numbers, too, were enormous.  Gohan knew right away that these were probably the elite warriors on the planet - probably one of only a few settlements, in fact, judging by the sheer numbers.

_Aaah, crap.  But the battle was on.  This one was significantly more difficult, and several times Gohan was afraid that he would lose - even with a significantly higher ki, with so many of them it would be easy to get overwhelmed. He fought on doggedly, refusing to hesitate and let them gain an advantage. A sick feeling in his heart told him that several of the creatures that he killed had been children, for all that they were attacking him with all the zeal of the adults._

"I'm at 30,952!"  The unexpected cry startled Gohan for a minute, and let one of the creatures land a decent punch.  It was almost without thinking that Gohan fired a ki blast through its heart.  She'd been counting?  She was proud of the number?

"I'm at 52,341 er, make that 2."  He realized, then, that he had been counting too.  _For a different reason_, his human side said sadly.  _Our nightmares will start again, and this is your way of torturing yourself.  You want to _know _how many you're responsible for.  I wonder…  When you're 20, 40, 100 – will you still remember this number?  Probably._

He was jerked back to reality when he heard an indistinct cry that sounded rather similar to 'unfair!' and he allowed a tiny smile to crack across his face.  His Saiya-jin side grabbed control of his thoughts again, and urged him to let himself get lost in the fight.  _Feel_ the flow, the rhythm…  

From the sounds coming to the left of him, Kitten had redoubled her efforts to outclass him.  _Not gonna happen!  He thought with a grin, as he upped his own effort level.  Yes, the warrior was in charge, and the scholar was left to do the counting and the record keeping.  _

The creatures around them also began to fight harder after hearing the numbers quoted, and Gohan wondered idly if that meant they could understand universal, or if it just meant that they were trying to keep up with their opponents' new intensity.

Suddenly he whirled as a scream came from directly behind him.  His ki flared as he watched in horror as three of the Ried-jins took Kitten down together.  His eyes widened as he heard her scream cut of abruptly, and her head flop awkwardly to the side – her neck was broken.  She was still alive, and her ki was still there, but she was completely defenseless. All he could do was watch in horror from across the battlefield as they moved for the kill, laughing grittily.

He wasn't aware that he was moving or that he was screaming, but suddenly he was there, and they were dead.  They were all dead - every single bug within the area was dead, and he couldn't even remember killing them.  All he saw was blood and all he felt was rage.  The overwhelming anger startled him, and threw him out of the blood lust as abruptly as he had gone into it.  What had happened?  He stood there for a minute, mouth gaping slightly as dark orange blood ran down his face.  He was covered in the orange Ried-jin blood – bathed in it, in fact.  There were more bodies than he could count, and a rather curious blank where his short-term memory was failing to keep him up to date.

What had happened?

But the sight of a familiar body strewn among the bodies of his enemies jerked him out of his shock-induced reverie.  He rushed over to Kitten's side, thanking all the Kais that she was still alive despite his momentary memory blank.  She wouldn't live for long, though, if he didn't do something for her – she was bleeding profusely and it wasn't just her neck that was broken… And to the extent of his knowledge, the regen tank had yet to be completely fixed.  

_I can't let her stay like this until we fix the regen tank…  I know what it feels like, and I wouldn't wish that on anybody.  But the memory of his own broken-neck incident reminded him of the senzu bean he'd hastily stuffed into his armor before they left - Piccolo-sensei warned him never to go into a battle without at least one, no matter how easy you think the battle might be.  There is no excuse for being unprepared.  With a tiny grin, Gohan tipped her head back and forced the bean down.  _

A minute passed, then Kitten sat up slowly, cracking her neck and feeling utterly amazed.  How had she gotten better?  She'd had her neck broken… hadn't she?  In wonder, she gazed down at her empty hands.  _How? I'm positive that my neck was broken…_

"How?  What? Gohan?"  

She turned her head towards the young boy and was slightly startled at his appearance.  Going in to battle, his hair had been neatly, albeit thickly, braided down his back - now it hung loose, flyaway spikes going every which way.  And his eyes… As she watched, she could've sworn they had gone from green to black.  _But that's not possible.  I know Chikku-jin and Saiya-jin anatomy pretty well considering, and I know that their eyes don't change into pupil-less aqua.  Whatever it was, trick of the light or something else, it was gone now, and he was looking at her with concern._

"Are you okay, nee-chan?"

"Yeah, amazingly enough I feel perky and not at all as if I'd just spent the day killing things!"  She smiled slowly, relishing the feeling.  And it was true – all of the hurts, scratches, and growing fatigue were gone.  Suddenly her eyes narrowed suspiciously as she stood up.  "You didn't do anything screwy to me, did you?"

Gohan laughed lightly at her, adopting the excruciatingly innocent look that betrayed the fact that yes, he _had_ done something, but he was way too cute to be berated for it.  _Besides, what kind of weirdo punishes their savior?_  Smiling cheerfully at him, she stretched again.

"Well kid, whatever it was that you did, you should bottle it or something - cause that's one _hell_ of a miracle cure!"

The smile he gave her in return was slightly haunted, and caught her more than a bit off guard.  What had happened while she'd been out of it?  Because, as the piles of dead Ried-jins attested, _something_ had happened involving massive enemy casualties.  But Gohan was turning now, and calling for her to hurry up.  With a shrug she took off after him, heading towards the next settlement of Ried-jins.  She would ponder that eerie smile later - right now there were bugs to exterminate and revenge to extricate!

Gohan turned away from Kitten and took off for yet another settlement.  He hoped that she wouldn't see his confusion and worry.  What had happened back there?  What had he done while the rage was controlling him?  The bugs in this area were the weaker variety, and only half his mind was occupied with fighting them - the other half gnawed on the various possibilities of his mental blank.

He was suddenly and rudely pulled out of his thoughts when one of the creatures, desperate to live, attacked him from behind and got a good grip on his massive quantity of hair.  Gohan growled - he hadn't realized that it'd come undone!  He gave the creature a sharp kick, sending it spiraling away, then proceeded to massage his aching scalp.

"Need a haircut, lad?" called an unexpected drawl above and to the left of him.  Gohan looked up in surprise and smiled at Ryl.

"Yeah, I think I do.  All this hair is getting to me!"

"It's getting to me too"

"Oh shut up, Sassy - my hair is none of your business!"

"Is too!  It makes you look like some sort of undignified savage - the type of person that I dislike being associated with."

"I'm curious how you can say that with the brother you have."

"Good point, lad," came the musing reply, and Gohan grinned at Ryl's mock horror.

"Hey!  Low blow!"

Gohan laughed slightly as he argued good-naturedly with the Twins, alternating zings with kills.   _This is what battle ought to be like, the Saiya-jin corner of his mind purred with contentment: _Camaraderie and death in equal measures…_ _

For now, at least, he would push away the gnawing questions.  For now, he would wear the mask that had first donned at four, out in the wilderness with Piccolo.  For now, he would let his friends concentrate on the battle, and for now he would convince himself that he was all right.  

They all returned to the ship within the hour, bloody and exhausted, but in high spirits.  After the Twins had joined up with Kitten and Gohan, they had met up with Dae and Hali, with Xe meeting them at the ship.  Everyone was smiling, and they all congratulated Gohan on his spectacular first show.

"He was magnificent, Chief!  He was fast, and kept up with me when it came to numbers." Kitten boasted with a proud grin.

"What're you talking about, 'kept up'?  I surpassed you by far!"

"Whatever, kid."

They both grinned at each other, and Hali nodded solemnly at Gohan in congratulations.  Kitten had picked up a while ago that Gohan didn't want to have 'the incident' mentioned, so she kept her mouth shut about it, even though she was still dying of curiosity about what had really happened back there.  She wouldn't mention it to Hali unless Gohan brought it up first.  She was still curious about that strange smile from earlier – so unlike the easy grin he was sending her now.

In fact, they were so busy grinning at each other that they completely missed Sassy approaching the child from behind, a mischievous smirk plastered on her face.  A quiet 'snip snip' was all it took to alert the advanced senses of the Saiya-jin that something was happening, and Sassy was on her back twenty feet away nano-seconds later.  

The damage had already been done, however - to Gohan's acute chagrin, she had in her possession an embarrassingly large quantity of black hair.  Kitten burst into hysterics at the sight of a now shorthaired Gohan, who looked slightly befuddled and was rubbing the back of his head in bemusement.  _Though I have to admit, the short hair looks better on him…  I wonder why he never cut it before?_

With a halfhearted vow to avenge his lost locks, Gohan joined the Faceless Ones boarding the ship once again, heading back out in to space.

_For a first mission he did very well.  Very well indeed…_

AN: Lexi: *sighs explosively* You know, I've come to the startling conclusion that there is no such thing as free time.

Kat: *laughs* You're just learning this now, Lexi-chan?

Lexi: *glares, rolls her eyes* 

Kat: *laughs*  Well, there it was – the much awaited LONG chapter! ^__^  This chapter actually took research (*gasp*) into how strong we needed to make Gohan and the others.  Please remember that Saiya-jins get stronger each time they get hurt – and Gohan got very, very hurt on planet Keman.  Also keep in mind that he was almost constantly training while in space, unlike on Earth where he spent a lot of time studying. 

Lexi: *inserts herself into the explanation*  In case you're wondering about the source of his outfit in this chapter – remember the capsule case?  "There were his orange gis, his purple gis, his special set of Saiya-jin spandex and armor (courtesy of Vegeta)…" (chptr 10).  Therefore I prove that spandex doesn't fall from the sky!

Kat: *sweatdrops*  Ugh.

Lexi: Oh yeah!  And he has dark red boots because they look cooler, and Vegeta would never allow Gohan to have an outfit _too_ close to his own. ^____^

Vegeta: damn straight!

Kat: Get out of my story, Vegeta!

Vegeta: *grumbles, leaves*

Anyways, thank you all for your continuing support!  This chapter was a lot of fun, and we're nearing the end the first section – one more chapter, then the real action starts!  The chapter production rate might slow down a tad, too, because we're also nearing the end of the mostly prewritten chapters. .  We're keeping this story on the top of our priority list, though, so don't worry – it wont fall into neglect like some of Lexi's _other_ stories.

**Next time on Dance Among the Stars:**

You've all been wondering, I'm sure, why this story has such an odd title.  Well, contrary to popular opinion, it _isn't_ just because Lexi and I have a taste for the poetic: The title is what it is for a reason.  Why is this relevant, you ask?  Because the next chapter will not only be exploring Gohan's psyche (what fun!) and relationship to the Faceless Ones, it will also give an explanation for the title.  Tune in next week for chapter 13: Dance Among the Stars.


	15. And We Will Dance Among the Stars

Short chapter, sorry – hopefully the depth will make up for it, though. ^___^  Oh, and because we're worried that you wont read the ending author notes - *IMPORTANT NOTICE!*  Lexi (and myself, come to think of it) are both going to be out of town over the weekend.  What this means for this story is that Lexi, who will have no access to the computer or internet, will be unable to post a new chapter next weekend.  It also means that we will be unable to post it early, because she's leaving in two days, and the chapter isn't even typed up yet. *sweatdrops*   In other words – don't expect the first chapter of Book Two until the 6th or 7th of December.  Sorry for the inconvenience, guys!

**~~~~~~~Chapter 13~~~~~~~**

**And We Will Dance Among the Stars**

Gazing out the window of the ship at the rapidly passing stars, Gohan cracked his knuckles distractedly - a nervous habit picked up from Kitten, no doubt.

"Stop it lad, you're driving me to distraction!" groaned Sassy, turning away from the bracelet she was making in favor of giving Gohan the evil eye.  He had been like this the last few days, and it was really starting to bug the reptilian female.  She liked kids and all, but not when they were antsy – the nervousness rolling off of Gohan at the moment was suffocating. Her tongue flicked in and out tasting the metallic tang she associated with nerves.

"Sorry, Sass," replied Gohan half-heartedly, continuing to gaze out the window of the 'rec deck' the two were currently occupying.  "I'm a bit out of it."  He obligingly stopped the knuckle cracking, but she could still taste the agitation.

Frowning slightly, Sassy put her bracelet aside in favor of joining Gohan at the window.  She settled onto the seat beside him, putting a comforting hand on his back.  "Wanna talk about it, lad?" she asked kindly, giving him a tiny smile when he glanced up in surprise.  Chuckling slightly she held both hands up in the air, as if to ward off some invisible blow.  "Hey, it isn't a crime to care!  Is your impression of me really that awful?  Damn, I must be a bitch in your eyes… or maybe you're still pissy about the hair thing," she mused.  

Gohan let out a tiny half-chuckle and turned back to the window.  "It's not that, Sassy-san.  It's just…  I find myself getting close to you guys - you're my friends, and I'm not sure how I'll be able to say goodbye to you in favor of monotonous old Chikuu-jin life.  If I get too much closer…" he trailed off and shrugged apologetically.  "It'll keep getting harder."

Sassy refused to be distracted by what she saw to be good news - Kitten would be ecstatic! - knowing that he was purposefully avoiding her scrutiny.  "That's alright lad, I wouldna worry.  However, I _would worry about my wrath if you continue to try and sidetrack the conversation."  Gohan had the good grace to look slightly sheepish, so she pushed on.  "Come, lad, I'd like to help you, but you have to let me in first."_

Gohan sighed and looked deeper into space, away from the shrewed green eyes.  The nervousness was growing, and there was confusion and sorrow mixed in.  Sassy bit her tongue in a vain attempt to keep back the pervasive feelings.  Gohan suddenly took a deep breath, and a minute later turned wide, open eyes to the scaled female.  

Sassy had to consciously bite back an exclamation of surprise at the revealing quality of his eyes - ever since he was first introduced to them, he had been something of a closed book.  His eyes were always guarded, and no matter how much he joked around with them, he never really let his mask slip. 

 _A smile isn't necessarily a slip up, and neither is a laugh - they're not even really cracks in the armor…  They're part of the mask itself._  And here was an open invitation to look underneath the protective layers, an admission to all the emotions a child of 9 ought to have.

"I'm scared, Sassy." he said softly, turning glistening eyes back towards the stars floating outside the window.  "I'm terrified of this thing in me…" his voice trailed off, and Sassy had to force herself to remain patient and silent - interrupting would get them nowhere.  A moment later he continued, elaborating.  "When we went on that purging mission and I began to fight, I loved it.  The screams, the blood… it was exhilarating!  I wanted it to last forever… but then the pauses came, and I felt nauseous.  I didn't understand what was driving me - I still don't!  I disgusted myself in those moments of sanity.  And then… it started all over again." He paused again, and when he briefly glanced at Sassy, she could see the tears glistening in overly bright black eyes.  

Sassy bit her lip anxiously - what had happened to the strong, unaffected warrior who had returned from the mission, laughing and joking?  The one that had wrestled with her when she dared to cut his hair?  The one who had come back without a hint of emotion generated by the massacre?  

_I forgot that he's a mere child.  We all have.  …He carries himself as though he were as old as Xe, instead of younger than Kitten.  He was never an innocent, was he - and we had the audacity to abuse that, didn't we? _

He turned back to the window, pressing his forehead to the glass, needing the cold contact to focus himself as he went on.  "When Kitten got hurt, my heart stopped.  I was so angry… all I knew was rage.  It consumed me, and I couldn't feel anything but a burning sensation without a name - and then my eyes cleared, and everyone was dead.  I was alone in a pool of blood and dead bodies, unable to remember what had just happened.  There was even blood on the corner of my mouth, and I don't know how it got there…  I don't even know how much time passed between one moment and the next.  But now I'm starting to remember flashes.  Savage joy in the killing… Sassy, I was ripping them apart and leaving them to bleed to death!  I was high off the madness.  Everything was a blend of red and gold…" he shuddered, and as Sassy's tongue flicked out instinctively, despite her trying to hold it back - she could taste the fear and revulsion that radiated off of him, replacing the earlier confusion.  She was slightly confused about the reference to Kitten getting hurt – she'd looked perfectly fine when they'd met up! – but she figured that she could ask him about it later.  For now, there were more important things to worry about.

After that there was silence, and it took a minute or two before the hardened warrior noticed the shaking shoulders of her younger compatriot.  She was at a complete loss of what to do at first: her race did not cry as his did, and the idea of comforting another person was a slightly foreign concept - with the exception of Ryl, of course, who didn't count, as he was more an extension of herself than a separate person.  And yet, as she watched his shoulders shake and heard the muffled sobs, she reached out and pulled him onto her lap, stroking his hair and quietly singing a song from her childhood.

She was unsure what to expect from him in reaction, having never tried something like this before.  She was trying to emulate the care she often saw Dae and Kitten exhibit when the other was hurting, and now she was glad that she had at least observed them.  Carefully she rocked him, tucking his hair behind his ears in a soothing gesture, softly singing the lullaby in her native tongue.  And as she rocked and sang, Gohan began to relax in the presence of the enigmatic woman and, wrapping tiny arms around her waist, he let the tears fall freely.  

He's hurting…  Kais, he's hurting so badly!  You can taste it on him like a poison, but no one's noticed before.  Gohan, lad, I know you can't hear me, and maybe I'll be able to tell you this one day – but I am sorry for what happened to you.  I am sorry for helping to steal your innocence.  I don't I'll ever be willing to tell you this to your face – it would ruin my image, damnit! – but I think you're special.

Gohan gave a tiny sigh as his tears continued to fall, and he hugged Sassy tighter.  He was so warm…  

And in their hearts, each knew that the tiny warrior could never leave them now.  

_'Fight!' the goddess' chant surround you,_

_Lift the glorious hymn on high -_

_Scream the anger and the valor,_

_Let loose with our battle cry!_

_Teach the children to be warriors,_

_Sing to them the sacred hymn -_

_Lead them into bloody battle,_

_Never let their spirits dim._

_Lift the children to the goddess,_

_Teach their spirits joy and pride -_

_Let them learn to love the bloodshed,_

_With the goddess by their side._

_And when battle finally claims us,_

_Death lift up the earthly bars -_

_We will fight beside our goddess,_

_We will Dance Among the Stars._

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

**End Book One**

Lexi: *chokes on all the sap*

Kat: *whacks her*  Alright, let's explain some stuff about this chapter:

After this point the chapters will be about Gohan while he is actually part of the Faceless Ones.  There will be mission accounts, more interaction between characters, and a few windows into what's happening on Earth that's pertinent to this story - Chichi's reception of those two messages, for example.  Anticipate longer chapters for the missions, though there will be short chapters too - it's a trademark. ^___~  After that, there will be a third book as well, telling of Gohan's return to earth after all this - and if we decide to go any further and people are interested, there might be a fourth book after that: but that remains to be seen. ^__^  

NOTE!!!  The chapters will still be posted in this story!  I wont be creating a new story for each book!

In regards to this chapter - Gohan is beginning to realize that he went Super Saiya-jin. (yes, he fully transformed last chapter, if you didn't catch that)  He _will_ learn to control the power up later, it just hasn't happened yet.  As for the hair cut - ucpseudonym, my beta reader, pointed out that Gohan had a rather large quantity of hair that would look more than a little goofy in SSJ. ^__^()  In order to rectify that without going back to the very beginning, I decided to just give him the cut now.  Think of the haircut that Gohan had during the Cell Games…

The ending poem is titled "Hymn for Battle," and it was written by Lexi specifically for this story - note the last line. ^___^  

Lexi: This is supposed to be a song, and when I wrote it I had a particular tune in mind - Free cameo to anyone who can guess what song!

Kat: hint - it's a traditional song that's sung around this time: not rap or pop or anything like that.

Lexi: Well, have a great holiday peoples!  (And no preview – the beginning of the new book will remain mysterious until it is posted!)


	16. Author Notice

Hey you guys, sorry this isn't a chapter. I have a family emergency, and will be out of town for several days. My great aunt just died very abruptly from lung cancer that no one knew she had, and everyone is taking the loss very hard. I'm planning on spending time with my grandma to help her through this, as well as go to the funeral. My aunt was a very special woman, and I don't trust myself near this story until I'm at least partially recovered from the shock.  
  
Again, I'm very sorry for the inconvenience.  
  
-Lexi 


	17. Old Habits Die Hard

A/N: Lexi:  Gomen!  I didn't mean to take such a long sabbatical, but with my aunt's death, so much traveling, finals, and so on, I just didn't have any time!  But enough with the excuses: I want to thank you for being understanding and patient, so I made Kat add two extra pages onto this chapter for you. ^___^  Special thanks to springwarrior who sent me an uberly cute Sprite comic about Gohan in DAtS– it really cheered me up. ~_~  

So without further ado –

~Chapter ONE, Book Two~

Old Habits Die Hard

Grinning fiercely, 9 year old Son Gohan punched and kicked at the air with a will.  _Too bad there's no room for the GR – that would be way more productive, but still…  Martial artists in every other part of the galaxy train without GRs, and they get super strong, too: I'm just spoiled._  Punch, kick, kick, punch, punch.  _Piccolo-sensei always wears weights around because they, unlike a gravity machine, can be used even when you're not training._  Kick, duck, punch, punch.  _I'll have to ask the others if there are any weights lying around that I could use.  _Duck, jab, kick, kick.  _I know dad used to put weights in the top of his gi, and I remember his wristbands being extremely heavy too – I might even have a set that already has weights!  _Punch, punch, kick, duck, jab.

He took a deep breath as he smoothly ended the kata.  Slightly out of breath, he bent down to stretch out again before starting another.  A few days ago, after his "break down" with Sassy, Hali had approached him and cordially invited him to stay on with the Faceless Ones.  He had been slightly shocked, mostly because she had asked him at a rather odd time – he was coming out of the bathroom, and she was waiting in the hall – but at the same time, he wasn't too surprised.  Kitten had been dropping a few hints, and the way Sassy had acted that night…

Gohan was a smart kid, and psychological analysis of the way people act was a developing talent.

It had only taken the boy a few moments to recover himself enough to bow and accept the honor that she was giving him, because to him, it was indeed an honor.  He could tell that she was happy – other people might be stumped by the fact that she hadn't even changed expression in the slightest, but he had seen the tiny glimmer in her eyes.  She had nodded indifferently, then told him that she would wait to Tattoo him until he was ready to take on a Name.   

_Of course, I still don't know what in Kai's name she's referring to, though.  I mean, I already have a name – Son Gohan!  I have the oddest feeling that she wasn't referring to that, though.  No one will explain it to me, except assuring me that "I'll know" when it's time!  How I'll know is behind me, when I don't even know what "the Name" is…_  Gohan shook his head and sighed.  If he didn't figure it out, then Dae would undoubtedly plant the idea into his mind, and that would be the source of this mystical revelation.

But that had been almost a week ago, and after a few days of feeling rather guilty about "abandoning mother," he'd started to adapt.  He'd thought he was used to them and the way that they lived, but suddenly he was aware of the things that happened while he wasn't around.  For one, he learned the reason why he sometimes wouldn't see certain members of the group for days on end – group missions weren't the _only_ missions that the Faceless Ones did.  Most of their missions were actually more covert one or two person assassinations – no need for them all to go.  He had been rather put off when Kitten first informed him of this, wondering why they hadn't bothered to inform him before.  "Because we didn't think it mattered," was the nonchalant reply.  _Yeah, only, it really does matter – We're talking the deaths of sentient beings here!  I'm still not sure I'll be able to carry through with this.  It was bad enough to kill people I know nothing about – an assassination mission requires knowing a person and their habits pretty thoroughly.  Can I kill someone I might genuinely like, just because a half brother is jealous enough to hire off-planet killers in order to gain a crown?  I suppose we'll find out…_  

Gohan's face tightened, and he shook himself angrily.  He did _not_ want to start thinking along those lines right now.  He was supposed to be training, not thinking about killing people – leave that to the professionals.  _Only now, I'm a professional too, aren't I?_  But no, he wasn't really.  Ryl had told him he was actually more of an "apprentice."  In Ryl's enlightened opinion, no one could truly be a Faceless One unless he had the tattoo to prove it.  That, apparently, was an ordeal all its own…  

And besides, as Ryl had laughingly pointed out, as a child, Gohan could use some more training.

Which was the reason he was here now, training with all his might.  He'd been down here for nearly an hour, practicing and warming up until one of the others came down to help him.  Normally Ryl and/or Sassy would train him.  They were both strong enough to match him, and their techniques were close to flawless.  Mostly they trained through sparring, with Gohan learning from experience.  Today, however, the Twins were on an assignment – Gohan had been too afraid to ask for details – so someone else would be down, though Gohan wasn't sure who it would be.  

_Probably not Kitten or Dae – I'm stronger than both of them put together, or so they're always telling me.  They do have some really fascinating techniques, though, so maybe they'll come down and teach me those!  Yeah, cause the Chief has too much to do; she doesn't have the time to spare for training me._  

The notion of being trained by Xe never even crossed his mind, partly because the wraith-like being tended to hold himself aloof and apart.  Besides - Xe was always watching him when they were in the same room, and Gohan had the distinct feeling that the Faelk-jin didn't like him very much.  

It can be understood, then, why Gohan was more than a bit surprised when Xe glided through the door and gave the current occupant a brief nod of acknowledgement.  Gohan quickly covered his shock as he watched Xe remove the billowing black cloak he always wore, revealing a simple gi underneath.  Even after almost two months on the same ship, this was the first time Gohan had ever seen Xe remove his outer layer of clothing.  

_I wonder if this means that he's removing his outer shells on an inside level too…  I have to admit that I'm really curious about him, and now might be my big chance!  Not likely, but possible…_

Without bothering to so much as stretch out, Xe fell into a relaxed stance.  Ingrained reflex allowed Gohan to do the same, despite his anxiety.  Xe upraised him silently for a moment before, quick as lightening, smacking Gohan upside the head.  Gohan blinked and stared up from where he now sat on the floor.  No one had _ever_ been able to do that to him, other than his mother!  Not even daddy and Piccolo!  

"How did y-"

"You have gaping holes in your defense.  Fix them.  No self-respecting warrior would allow himself to be associated with a child who cannot even muster a decent defense."

Gohan's eyes narrowed and he jumped to his feet, intent on proving the taciturn male wrong.  Twice more he was knocked down with ease, though Xe was silent again.  Gohan growled and got to his feet yet again, angry at the way he was being treated.  He didn't like feeling stupid, yet that was how he felt at the moment.  _Just attack…_ whispered his Saiya-jin side, and for a minute he actually considered it.  _But that would be dumb.  Xe is trying to help me perfect my stance, and my frustration is making me sloppy.  This is how Piccolo-sensei taught, too – it means a lot more if you discover it by yourself.  That way it's truly your own, and that much stronger for being that._  

With a deep breath, Gohan got a handle on his emotions.  Carefully he corrected his stance, paying attention to the minute details.  This time when Xe shot out a leg, Gohan blocked without shaking.  He grinned in pride, but he remained in the stance – if Xe followed Piccolo's training system, he would relentlessly follow through.  But Xe apparently had other ideas.  The Faelk-jin pulled back and nodded indifferently.  

"Drop to the ground and do 100 push ups, then get back in your stance."  

Mildly surprised, Gohan obeyed on reflex.  _This makes sense, though – it'll drill the stance into my head by making me completely drop it, then reclaim it._  

Up again in 30 seconds, Gohan meticulously resumed his stance.  This time he wobbled as Xe struck at a hole, but he didn't fall.  He made a few tiny adjustments, and blocked both of Xe's attempts at getting through.  Once again he was ordered to do 100 pushups before resuming his stance.  This time he could _feel_ it click, and he grinned as he was able to deflect all of Xe's attacks.  Gohan almost dropped the defense to do more push-ups, but remembered Piccolo's training at the last minute – and a good thing, too.  He blocked Xe's attacks with minimal effort, then attacked in return.  The spar was very brief, and Gohan had the feeling that the older man was simply taking his measure.

"Good.  300 pushups, then back to your stance."  Again Gohan felt the stance click when he stood up, and again he was able to block the calculated jabs.  This pattern of pushups and short spars continued for almost an hour before Xe gave Gohan a short nod.  

"You'll do.  Now watch me carefully, this is very precise.  On the second time through, I want you to join in." 

Gohan watched intensely as Xe began a slow, complicated kata.  Watching carefully, Gohan noted the way each new move affected Xe's balance, and how each time the Faelk-jin would shift his weight a fraction in order to keep steady.  _Wow, these moves are really excellent, and the shift of balance makes them flawless.  I've never seen someone who could execute these – especially in slow motion – without loosing effectiveness through being off balance.  He's _really_ good.  Better than dad even!_

The second time they did it through together, and Gohan marveled at the intricacies of the pattern, and how simple finding your balance was if you practiced it this way.  _So simple, yet no one on Chikuu could do this sort of thing…_ The slow, fluid motions felt almost second nature, and they felt so _good_, so natural, that despite the difficulties of suck a complicated piece, he found himself doing it nearly as well as his current sensei.  

Going through the third time, he did it alone, savoring the movements.  Xe stood back and watched, correcting him in the annoyingly mild, slightly derisive tone that Gohan was coming to associate with the Faelk-jin.  

They continued training like this, Gohan learning new katas, for almost four hours, but finally Xe allowed him to cool down and stretch out.  

"You've improved."  The pale man said, no trace of emotion on his face or in his voice.

"Arigato sensei." Replied Gohan.  Inside he was glowing with pride to have won a compliment off a man who exuded the even more sinister vibes than Vegeta, but outside he remained calm and unaffected.  _Just like Piccolo.  Just like Hali.  Just like Xe._  There was a moment of silence, then the wraith-like figure allowed a thin smile to spread across his face – the first sign of emotion he'd shown since they'd begun, nearly five hours ago.

"I am no scholar of you language, half-breed.  I speak over 300 languages, but yours is not among them.  I must ask that you translate into common for me."

Gohan stared at Xe with wide eyes.  Not only was he _smiling_, he was really smart!  Over 300 languages!  _Mom would adopt him on the spot, scary though he might be…_  finally he blurted out the first thing that came to mind: "teach me!"

Xe's face went blank, and Gohan turned red, dropping into a deep bow.  "Gomen.  Er, sorry.  Please, Xe-san, teach me to speak these languages!"

Now Xe looked rather puzzled, though less distant.  Gohan could've smacked himself for his stupidity.  _Damnit, damnit, damnit!  Now I'll never get a chance to talk to him, and learn more about him!  Stupid forthrightness inherited from my father! _ 

Finally Xe nodded slowly, and Gohan perked up slightly.  "Very well.  I will teach you languages until you think you can hold no more, only to find that you can.  In return, you will teach me your own language.  If you prove inept, however, I will have nothing more to do with you."

Gohan rubbed the back of his head and smiled, unable to believe his luck.  "Okay, that's fair – and I'm assuming you want to learn Japanese?  I know 4 other Chikuu-jin languages, and rudimentary Saiya-go as well."

Xe raised a hair thin eyebrow, mildly surprised that so young a child already knew 7 languages, and was still very eager to learn more.  _Maybe he will prove to be an ideal student after all…  I was twice his age before I'd learned that many languages._  Xe watched silently as Gohan finished stretching, then put his cloak back on and slipped into the hall, heading towards the meditation chamber.  He had a lot to think about, regarding a certain Saiya-jin hybrid…

All his life, Xe had been regarded with fear because of his mixed blood.  When he was a child on his mother's home planet – he would never consider it his own – no one would speak with his mother, and no one would even acknowledge his existence.  He had once asked his mother why he looked so different; the only trait he shared with his mother was his thick black hair.  At the age of 10, he was as tall as his mother, and he loomed over the other children.  He was an outcast because of his mixed blood…

I always thought that all hybrids were doomed to be like me – alone in the world, completely different than anyone around them…  Never accepted by either side of the family, because of the taint of the other side.  But Gohan – he's different.  He told us that he lived the beginning of his life completely normally, accepted into society without a problem.  He fascinates me.  What would it be like to grow up with all the benefits of mixed blood, and none of the downsides?

Lexi: shows what you know Xe!  None of the downsides?  Oh, Gohan doesn't have it _that_ great, you know.  Hybrids often exhibit strange traits like, oh, insanity…

Kat: *slaps hand across Lexi's mouth, hisses impatiently* shut _up_ you cow!  You're giving things away!

Lexi: *wide eyed, struggling to breath*  mmmhmmmmhmph!

Kat: *won't let go*  Well, anyways, explanations for this chapter – it's the beginning of the new book, and Gohan's been invited into the Faceless Ones.  He still needs to get his tattoo (I'll actually write out the procedure, because AAS seems so set on it ^__^n) and his Name…  Which you can guess about all you want, you'll never figure it out. *evil smile*  Other things in this chapter… Uh…  

Oh!  About Gohan knowing all those languages – remember who his mother is!  And if you're curious about which 7 – he knows Common Universal, Japanese, English, French, Chinese, Vietnamese, and rudimentary Saiya-jin.  Rudimentary I say?  Well, Vegeta took it upon himself to attempt to educate the little half-breed to be a _real_ Saiya-jin warrior, but they never got very far before people started ejecting themselves into space. ^__^n

Other than that it's pretty self-explanatory…  You'll be seeing a lot more of Xe in the next couple chapters, because he's one of my favorites next to Gohan, and I unfortunately do not have a preview for you – sorry!

Lexi: *breaks free, coughs*  Ugh!  Anyways, I'd also like to interject that no one got the right tune, though a few came close – it's actually to "Hark the Herald Angels Sing."  *sweatdrops* No one can guess this stuff!  Anyways, new contest then. *stubbornly insists on having stupid contests – did it in her own story, too*  Whoever can guess why we titled the chapter "Old Habits Die Hard" gets a free cameo as Gohan's first assassination target. ^0^


	18. Slow My Decent

A/N:  Well, I'm not surprised by the fact that everyone who guessed got at least a portion of the answer correctly – but you seemed to have forgotten that, like the story itself, the title will usually have several meanings (especially if Lexi makes it into a contest question ^___^).  In this case, the closest answer we got was from Luna's Meow – congratulations!  And congratulations to everybody else as well, because you all did a great job. ^__^  And don't worry – there will be other contests. D

*Insert Pleading Apology* This chapter has been done for a good two weeks, but we ran into a series of complications.  Our beta reader didn't get back to us for awhile (not her fault, btw) and we were having trouble finding time to work on this chapter… *sighs* can we just kill finals? (I just finished went through two grueling days of them, plus spent my entire weekend studying /__\)  But none of this is a good excuse, so we'll all shut up now.  I have a day off tomorrow, so I should be able to find some time to work on the next chapter, though I'm not sure when Lexi will have time. *sighs* Co-writing is so rewarding, but so challenging at the same time. ^_^

Tardy Disclaimer for Book Two:: We are merely two overly-ambitious writers, seeking to explore new plot lines and avoid clichés the tough way – practicing on some other bloke's characters.  In this case, we have chosen to abuse the work of Akira Toriyama, may he forgive us for blatant maltreatment of his storyline.

~Book Two, Chapter Two~

"_Slow My Decent…_"

"Ko, mi, hae, tei."

"Koa, mee, hi, tay."

"No.  Listen more carefully.  Ko, mi, hae, tei."

"…Ko, mi, hae, tei."

"You're getting there.  Sii, sae, ka, be."

"Sii, sae, ka, be" Gohan frowned in concentration as he carefully enunciated the alien sounds.  Almost finished with their third language lesson, Gohan was having the time of his life.  Things were looking up for him a lot – he hadn't been this consistently happy since he was four years old, riding Kinto'un with his father.  He'd always loved learning things, especially new languages, and having a real teacher sitting there and explaining things was way more fun than trying to figure it out himself.

"Now you know the three hundred and four basic sounds of the Saeoli-jin language.  By next time I want you to be able to recite all of them out loud without difficulty."

Gohan nodded before standing up and giving Xe a short bow of respect.  "Arigato, sensei."  

The two parted ways as usual, and Gohan headed straight down to the training room.  In the past few days he'd formed something of a schedule for himself.  He would get up, train until breakfast, study in his room until lunch, learn languages with Xe, train under one of the others, teach Japanese to Xe, have dinner, and train or study until he was ready for bed.  

Today he could already feel Kitten's ki in the training chamber, and he felt a glow of excitement.  He hadn't been able to train with Kitten yet, partly because he wasn't ready to learn the precise moves that she could teach him, and partly because he would have to be doing so while seriously holding back his strength in order to refrain from harming his friend.  _She trusts me not to hurt her, and they agree that I'm good enough to learn her moves… this is so cool!  Grinning like a child who has just been offered a puppy, Gohan fairly bounded into the training chamber._

"Kabe sii, Kitten!"

Kitten looked up in surprise, then an answering smile spread across her face.  "Kabe sii, Gohan.  Sae'ri Xe waztae'hii?"

Gohan laughed slightly as he began to stretch out.  "Sorry Kit, haven't gotten that far.  I only know the sounds and a few basic phrases such as 'good day'."

"I asked if you were learning well under Xe.  You know, not incurring any death threats or anything." 

Gohan grinned impishly up at Kitten, eyes twinkling as he continued his stretches.  "Oh, I'm learning very well.  We're getting along just peachy - after training in Saiya-jin language and customs under a jackass of a prince, and spending the first 8 years of my life studying under a frying pan wielding mother, learning from Xe is like being a pampered teacher's pet."

Kitten's eyebrows rose, and a tiny bubble of laughter escaped.  "Xe, _pampering_ someone?!  Kais, that's a disturbing mental image!  I'll make sure to tell him you want him to get harder on you."

Trying to contain his own laughter, Gohan pasted an expression of mock horror on his face as he began to fiercely deny wanting her to do any such thing.  Suddenly a wave of pain flashed through him, and he shuddered slightly.  _What in the…___

"Well, time's a wastin' - let's get out there sometime this century, ne?"  Kitten quipped, apparently having failed to notice the pain that had flashed through Gohan's eyes.

Gohan grinned shakily in reply as he wrapped up his stretches.  "Ready when you are, Kitten!" he replied with forced enthusiasm.  _B__ecause I'm certainly not going to worry you with little things unless I have to.  Besides, the pain is gone now.___

The training session went perfectly, and there were no more weird flashes of pain.  Gohan was nothing less than amazed by some of the moves that Kitten was able to flawlessly execute.  Being the weakest member of the group, when Kitten fought she had to make the most of her precious few advantages, one of which was her body shape.  For that reason alone, Gohan knew that he didn't have a chance in the world of learning some of her best techniques, even if he trained his entire life.  Despite that, though, there was still plenty she could teach him.  In a few short hours, Gohan had learned moves that were as graceful and precise as they were entirely deadly.

_Never judge a book by its cover - Kitten looks incredibly fragile and her moves look like they could be brushed aside without a thought, yet I think she could kill people with much higher kis than her own.  I hope that I can learn to move like she does…  I've never really gotten a chance to watch females fight before, and it's amazing how they make martial arts look like nothing more than a complicated dance.  Sure, truly skilled males do the same, but somehow it's so much more striking in a female…___

Shaking his head slightly, Gohan laughed at himself.  He had no idea where _those_ thoughts were coming from, and he had more important things to ponder.  _Like how exactly to teach Xe without sounding like an idiot.___

Gohan looked down at the sword in his hands with more than a little apprehension.  He'd learned to use the Western style sword Piccolo had given him as a kid easily enough, but that had been a long time ago.  This sword was different.  It was so light that only his hand around the hilt assured him that he even held it, while he could remember having trouble picking up the other sword while he was learning.  _Granted, I am a lot stronger now - but I still have that sword, and I could swear that it's heavier than this one; for all that it's a lot smaller…___

"Are you ready, kid?" Dae asked with a raised eyebrow.  The redhead was standing across from Gohan, sword in hand, ready to teach Gohan the intricacies of swordplay.

"Yeah, I guess…" was Gohan's eloquent reply.  Suddenly another flash of pain, so much like the one earlier in the day, swept over him.  It took all of his training to remain calm and poised, when his mind felt as if it were splitting into two.  _What in the world…_  But the pain had passed as quickly as it had come, and Dae was talking.  _I'll think about it later.  For right now, I ought to concentrate on re-learning the sword.  I've dealt with pain before._  _But,_ another corner of his mind whispered sardonically, _that pain had an obvious and direct cause, usually battle wounds. _

Oblivious, Dae began his lecture.  "First off, don't hold the sword like that.  It's an extension of yourself, not something to fear.  Don't hold it too loosely or it will slip, but you can't strangle it or it won't flow."  Gohan nodded and re-adjusted his grip, pushing out the thoughts about the strange pain.  It was time to concentrate on the lesson at hand.

Two hours later, Gohan was feeling a lot better about learning the new skill, and he had completely forgotten about the earlier incidents with the pain.  Despite his original apprehension, he was finding that it wasn't really all that difficult after all.  Like Dae had said, after a while the sword was feeling more natural in his hand, though he was still adjusting to all the differences.  

"Thanks a lot, Dae-san!  That was a lot of fun."

Dae grinned slightly as he stretched to cool off.  "No problem, kid.  You're pretty good - you sure you've never handled a sword before?"

"Well, I learned to use a different style of sword when I was four, but I outgrew it a few years ago, so I haven't practiced in awhile."

Dae seemed to perk up at that, and immediately began to reprimand his student.  "You should've told me this before!  If I'd known what you already knew, I could've taught you more pertinent things and given you better pointers.  Right now, run and bring me this sword."

Completely baffled by these instructions, Gohan complied.  _I wonder why he wants my sword.  Maybe he just wants to examine the differences in styles, though I don't know how that'll tell him more about my past skill set…  Oh well, it's Dae - he has a right to be eccentric._  He reached his room in almost no time at all, and began rifling through one of his drawers, looking for his capsule case.  _Where is it, where is it…___

Suddenly a wave of pain flashed through his body, much stronger than it had been before.  Gohan whimpered slightly and made a grab for something to steady himself.  Another wracking pain sent him to his knees, shuddering violently.  _Oh kami, kami… it hurts!  Kais, it hurts so much!_  Wave after wave of pain hit him, unlike anything he'd ever felt.  Finally it was too much. 

After waiting for nearly fifteen minutes, Dae was more than a little impatient.  Gohan shouldn't have been more than five minutes even if he had to scour his entire room!  Irritated, Dae sent out his mind toward where he knew Gohan's ought to be.  Poking around, he was slightly alarmed to find absolutely nothing in Gohan's room.  _What in the…_  Continuing his probe throughout the ship, he found a similar lack of Gohan.

Worry was quickly replacing irritation.  There were very few rational explanations for not being able to sense someone's mind.  One was that they were well shielded - Dae didn't have the talent needed to be able to sense shielding, he could only sense open minds.  The other option was unthinkable - that the mind simply wasn't there.  _He can't be…___

Suddenly frantic, Dae raced towards Gohan's room.  He slid to a stop in front of the door, and burst through it.  "Goh--!"  His eyes opened in horror, and he took a step backward from shock.  "Kid…"

Lexi: *laughs insanely* Bwahahahaa!  Cliff hanger!  

Kitty: *smirks slightly* And no one will be able to guess what it is without more psychic powers than Dae.

Lexi: *evilly* Enjoy the wait until the next chapter comes out…  We're shooting for two weeks at this point.

Kitty: Oh!  And a short explanation of this chapter – this isn't necessarily all taking place in one day.  It's more to paint a picture of Gohan's gradual change into someone other than who he is in the series, as well as his relationship to the others.  I should also point out that Gohan doesn't know about Dae's other psychic ability (psychometery) because it's never come up before.  Dae usually has the ability "shut off" so to speak, in order to remain sane – otherwise he would be getting flashes of other people's emotions, thoughts, and pasts every time he touched _anything_.  He only uses the gift when he has a reason to, and, much like the assassination part of the Faceless One's career, they don't think it's terribly important, so they didn't go out of their way to tell Gohan.  For them, it's commonplace, and they would just assume that he would know.  (Shortsighted on their part, I know… ^___^)


	19. Into Madness

~Book Two, Chapter Three~

"…Into Madness…"

A cool breeze blew through the tall grass, creating a verdant sea of undulating calm.  Somewhere in the distance a single bird let loose an ebullient song, somehow filling the entire meadow with the solitary melody.  His lips curved into a delighted smile – this was no canned birdsong, this was the real deal.  It's been so long since I've heard this…  It was heaven, it really was.

_He breathed in deeply, lungs filling with the scent of fresh grass and wildflowers.  This was it.  He was home.  Nothing in the Universe could counterfeit the smell of Chikuu-sei.  But…  Why do I feel as if I've been away?  Came a startled thought, completely unwelcome in this tranquil sanctuary.  No, he decided, I'm not going to even think about it.  Thus decided, he simply let his mind drift out with the breeze.  No one was threatening to destroy the world, peace reigned, Cell was destroyed, and the solitude was unbreakab—_

"BANZAI!" came a loud, completely unexpected cry, shattering the stillness.  _It was a dream, _he thought with wonder.  _I wish I could have _more_ dreams like that._  But even these thoughts were stolen from him as something hit him with all the force of a cannonball, bringing him fully into awareness.  His surroundings seemed both very familiar and very strange…

"Wakie, wakie, nii-chan!" screamed the same voice that was responsible for recalling him to reality.  _But, _he thought in complete bewilderment, _I don't have any younger siblings!  Who…?_

"Goten, do you _have_ to wake me up by _jumping_ on me?" he moaned, sitting up slightly and rubbing tired eyes with the back of his hand.  _Goten?  I've… heard that name before, but not as a sibling!  I know that…  And how did I know this child was Goten?  Where am I? What's going on?_  His mind continued to stumble and stutter to itself, and his body and mouth continued to work on their own.  Completely on its own, the body pushed a dark haired child onto the floor.  _That's, that's _tousan_! _ Cried his mind, but his mouth, again, had other ideas.

"Go tell kaasan that I'll be down soon, Goten."

"Will you train with me today?  _Please_???"  The child looked pleadingly up, eyes threatening to overwhelm the small face.  His mouth twitched into a smile that even his confused mind was willing to give.  

"We'll see, kiddo.  I have school, remember?"  The Body, as he was coming to think of it with slight distaste, was now out of bed and walking towards the closet.  The child pouted, but when The Body sent it a Look, it – _Goten_, he reminded himself vaguely – laughed and scampered out the door.

He stared vacantly into the closet, and winced slightly as The Body hummed an off-key song, picking out a simply hideous outfit from a horrendous display of similarly ugly outfits.  _Do I really have such bad taste?_  He asked himself.  For some reason the sea of bright colors had woken him from his state of confused apathy.  _For some reason I really would rather wear black.  I don't know why, but black leather is sounding especially appealing._  For a second The Body's hand wavered for a minute, as if having second thoughts on its chosen outfit.  _Yes!_  He thought at it, sensing an opening for victory.  _Yes, put the orange pants back.  Over there, those black slacks will work in lieu of anything half-way decent.  And here, this black turtleneck.  A little stuffy, yes, but a damn sight better than what you were _going_ to take us out dressed in._  

With The Body dressed in something that he, The Mind, wasn't too ashamed to be seen in, they took the stairs two at a time.  The smell of his mother's famous cooking wafted up to his nose and his mouth watered.  _It seems like forever since I've had mom's food!  It can't have been _that_ long ago, and yet…  I can't help thinking it's been years._  Trying to shake off the strange feeling, he entered the kitchen with a smile.

"Kaasan!  It smells absolutely delicious."

His mother smiled happily over at him and indicated the table with a gesture from her spatula.  He started slightly, and peered closer at his mother.  _She looks so _old_!  _He thought in shock, even as The Body continued to grin and sit down.  _There's gray in her hair, and lines on her face.  Kais…  She… She isn't supposed to get old.  _He thought vaguely.  Mothers were supposed to be fantastic creatures that never aged, and always told you to eat your vegetables and wash your hands before you sat at the table.  The spatula cracked down on his hand.

"Go wash up."

_Well, I guess some things never change._  The Body made some half-hearted attempts to get out of it, laughing even as it took them both toward the bathroom.  Once there, his eyes fell on the mirror and he froze at what he saw.  _This isn't me._  He thought, everything feeling like ice.  _This…  It can't be me.  I don't look anything like this.  It's too old, the face is different.  The eyes are the wrong shade.  It doesn't have a  scar across the bridge of the nose like its supposed to.  It… It's not me at all!_

Suddenly The Body was under his control.  He leaned forward toward the sink, hands coming hesitantly up to the face.  _What's going on?  _He felt nauseous, and the room seemed to be spinning.

"Gohan?" came a concerned call from the kitchen.  "Gohan-chan?"

~*~

_He was back in the field of tall green grass, the last traces of alarm fading in the stillness and simplicity of this place.  _Back?_ He thought lazily, watching a bright robin flit through the sky.  _Back from where?  I've never been here before.  _He also couldn't imagine why he'd felt so scared when he first became aware of this place.  Whatever it was, it was definitely gone now, and he dismissed it from his mind entirely._

_The sky was a bright blue he'd only ever seen on his home planet.  It had been such a long time since he'd been there…  A decade maybe?  _But_, whispered part of his mind in confusion, _I'm not even a decade old at all!_  But that part of him faded so quickly it might never have existed._

"Gohan!  Wake up, kid.  It's time we get going again.  If we take too long with this mission the Chief might think we failed." 

"Ha, yeah right!"  After years of practice, he had finally perfected the art of the instant waking.  One instant he was asleep, the next he was fully awake and functional.  Quite a useful ability, that…  "This is a class C mission.  It hardly deserves _any_ of our attention, let alone _my_ attention."  

Kitten laughed lightly and shoved him in the arm.  "You're getting as big an ego as Xe."

He snorted at that and began the process of breaking camp, theatrically snubbing his partner.  They had been working together as a team for quite some time now.  Usually it was in a triad with Xe, but being that this was such an easy mission…  The only reason that they had been both sent was because there was a perfect opportunity to give him some first hand training that he couldn't get anywhere else.  Somehow his mind knew all of this, without even having to think about it.  It was just… There, in the back of his mind.  _But, I don't remember having any of those conversations with the Chief… I must have, though, _he continued on distractedly, _because I wouldn't have such clear pictures of them in my head.  And what is remembering but recalling images of things that have happened in the past, and these obviously occurred in the fairly recent past…_

He was only succeeding in giving himself a headache at this point, and his body – without the help of his mind, he was alarmed to realize – had completed it's given task of cleaning up the are they had used to spend the night.  Jet black tail swishing lazily, he looked around to see if he'd accidentally left anything.  _Wait… Tail?  Since when did I have a tail?_  He wanted to turn around and get a good look at it, but his body decided it had other ideas.  It rose slowly into the air, hovering about ten feet up.  

"You coming, Kitten?"

"Sure, sure." She replied distractedly, for the first time coming out where he could see her clearly.  She… wasn't exactly the way he remembered her.  _It's her eyes._  He thought distractedly.  _Her eyes look so much older…  And there're streaks of blue in her hair, when I distinctly remember it being completely white.  _Now he was really confused, and his growing headache was not being helped any.  _One doesn't suddenly show signs of aging all at once._  He scoffed.  _I'm just not being observant._  Part of his mind rebelliously pointed out that he was _always_ observant, but he quelled the thought.  At the moment he preferred being forgetful to being crazy…

Shaking his mental head to clear out the tangle of thoughts, he and Kitten soared off towards their goal.  They were going to disable the defense mechanism of this planet…  As they flew over a glossy yellow lake, he caught a glimpse of himself.   _But… that's not me!  I don't look anything like this!  I don't have so many scars on my face, for one thing.  And it's too old!  The expression is so… cold.  So utterly foreign…_

"Gohan?" came a concerned voice at his elbow.  "Gohan-chan?"

~*~

_The grass lapped gently against his knees as he surveyed the field with impassive eyes.  Somewhere in the distance a bird whistled, and he winced away.  _Stupid bird…_  He snarled slightly and glared in it's direction, debating whether or not to kill it for disturbing the silence.  He knew very well this was a dream, though it wasn't the dream he usually had.  Usually there was darkness, bitter cold, and ice.  Today, for some reason, it was warm and sunny.  It was really pissing him off…_

In the real world, a tiny sound alerted him to the presence of an intruder.  Before said intruder could blink an eye, he was awake, a knife at the creature's throat.  The creature whimpered in fear and pain, trying to cower away from his blade.  _Wait_ part of him thought in alarm, _you can't just kill him!_  For a moment his hand wavered.  But only a moment.  Ignoring the horrified cries of his mind, his body sliced the creature's neck from ear to ear.  Perversely he felt a thrill of pleasure, and it was enough to make him sick – but only his mind.  

The Body grinned and licked blood from the blade.  "Gd'in-jin" he muttered, "figures they'd send an assassin…"  

Callously he blasted the creature into dust after wiping his blade clean on it.  Already awake now, he swept around the bare little room, picking up his pitifully few belongings.  Within seconds it looked as though no one had ever called this tiny closet home.  It was time.

"Master Leareth…" a pitiful voice squeaked from the other side of the door.  "Master Leareth, his Majesty wishes to speak with you…"

He opened the door and observed the cowering servant coldly.  "You let an assassin into my room." He stated blandly, no trace of emotion in his voice.  

He felt a trace of amusement as he watched the servant's eyes widen in alarm.  "No, mas-master, I, I didn't, master, I…" the servant continued stuttering, groveling at his feet in abject terror.  _Noooo…_ his mind moaned with sick dread, even as his mouth curved up in a horrible, cold smile.  _Please, leave him be!  What's wrong with me?_  Inside his head he was miserable, sick of himself.  What was wrong with him?  The Body hesitated, then snorted and kicked the servant.

"Shut up." He said coldly.  He walked off down the hall, leaving the servant crying with relief.  He headed straight for the throne room.  It was time for another mission, and he felt his heart speed up with eagerness.  Missions meant death and destruction…  

"Leareth." 

"Yes, your majesty."

"It is time."

"I know."

"No life but death."

"No death but by my hand."

"Good. You were a good investment, Gohan.  I am pleased with you."

"Thank you, your majesty."

"You are dismissed, Gohan Leareth."

"Yes, your majesty."

~*~

_The grass gently laps at him, as he stares blindly ahead.  He is back in the field, and he recognizes it – and he remembers each of the times he was here before.  This time there is no comfort in this field, only confusion.  The bird inspired disgust with himself, and he shuddered in revulsion.  What had happened?  Was this who he truly was?  A cold-blooded killer?_

_"No, Gohan."_

_He started, his head shooting up towards the voice.  "Wha-?"_

_Before him floats a man with lavender skin and a white mohawk.  He stares, not quite certain what to do.  This is his dream, so that meant that this man was somehow brought forth from him subconscious – but where would he ever come up with a person quite like this one?  And the man's aura of power… It left him feeling as though he were in the presence of God._

_The man laughed, a slight chuckle, like water on rocks.  "Oh, Gohan, you flatter me."_

_"Are you God?"  He could think of nothing more intelligent to say, and as the man smirked, he blushed, wishing he had said nothing at all.  The question sounded stupid, even to him._

_"Actually, Gohan," the man said, dark eyes sparkling, "I am.  Kaioshin, the Supreme Kai, that is."_

_The poor 9 year old fell to his knees, alternately paling and flushing, completely aware that he as making a fool of himself – which made it a hundred times worse, but he couldn't do anything about it.  "What do you want with me?" he asked miserably, wondering what was happening.  _It's probably punishment, _he decided with trepidation.  _He's here to punish me for abandoning mommy.  _This decided, he let his eyes drop from the man who still floated above the grass.  He wasn't worthy of looking upon the Kaioshin._

_Although he couldn't see it, Kaioshin winced.  This wasn't how it was supposed to go…  Suddenly he felt a warm hand on his head, and he stiffened._

_"Gohan."  The voice sounded sad for some reason.  "Gohan, you did nothing wrong when you left home.  In fact, you have done a world of good."_

_His head shot up and he stared at Kaioshin, eyes wide with a mixture of emotions.  "But…"_

_The Kaio shook his head.  "Don't question it.  I came because you are a very important playing piece in the life of this universe, Son Gohan."  The man smiled wanly and offered him a hand up.  "You are probably more important than I in the outcome of the future.  I can only guide, after all.  You…  You have the potential to be the Savior or the Apocalypse."_

_He didn't know what to say.  Inside his head a thousand questions bubbled up, but the man held up a hand to forestall him._

_"No, just listen.  I have been trying to call you here, to the Crossroads of Dreams for a while now.  You have been resisting." Kaioshin smiled dryly.  "It is a wonder you held as long as you did.  I finally had to resort to rendering you unconscious from pain, as that seemed the only thing able to get through to you."_

_Ah.  So that explained the strange burning sensations, dizziness, and pain.  _

_"What you just witnessed was the future.  There are far to many futures to count, and a new future is created every time any decision, no matter how small, is made.  What you saw were three core futures.  As I said, Gohan, you are an important playing piece.  I do not know why, but every single core future is guided by _your_ decisions.  It is unprecedented, frankly.  However," he continued with a soft chuckle, "I do not have time to speculate with you.  I must explain myself, give you the warning, and get back to my duties."_

_His mind was churning; he could barely grasp what the Supreme Kai was saying anymore.  He… controlled the future?  Or, at least his choices did… But?_

_"The first future is one that will never happen.  It is what might have been had you remained on Chikuu-sei.  It is a path better left untouched, for on it is destruction of the worst sort.  There could never have been peace, and you would be left scrambling for a life.  The second future is an ideal one, though it will give you much personal pain.  It will be fraught with hardships, but you will have the strength to meet them and rise above.  Depend on your friends, Gohan, and watch for the girl with the silver locket.  This is the future that will ultimately save the universe.  The third future…  In the third future you are the Apocalypse.  This path must be avoided at all costs."  The Kai's eyes flashed as he spoke, and he could only listen to the words with horrified dread.  "On this path _you_ will destroy life after life, and revel in it.  You shall kill those most important to you with your own two hands, and laugh as you do so.  Do not slip, Gohan, because this is the path that will catch you."_

_Slowly the man began to fade, until only his voice could be heard on the breeze._

_"Be careful, Gohan, Savior, Apocalypse.  We believe in you, and will give you help when you need it most.  Think on the things you have seen.  You may stay here as long as you need, in the peace and solitude of this place."_

_Then the voice was gone, leaving only the faint whisper of wind through grass.  He let out the breath he hadn't known he was holding, and let himself collapse onto his back in the grass.  He stared blankly at the blue sky for a very long time._

~*~

"What's wrong with him?"

"Will he be alright?"

"I'M GOING TO KILL YOU, DAE!  YOU BASTARD!!!  IT'S ALL YOUR FAULT!  KII'AE TARRI WA'STI!"

"Kitten, calm down.  It wasn't Dae's fault.  Whatever is wrong, it is completely out of our hands.  Beside, crying blood feud is hardly appropriate."

The members of the Faceless Ones all stood crowded into Gohan's bedroom, peering down at the unconscious form, while Kitten struggled futilely in Ryl's arms, continuing to scream at Dae, who kept inching away. 

"He looks kinda creepy like that…" Sassy ventured, a note of awe in her voice.  "You know, all blank and stuff.  I wonder if he's 'still there', so to speak."

"Of course he's 'still there'!"  Replied Kitten, who had managed to calm down enough to be let down, though she was unable to keep the edge of hysterical panic from her voice.  "He _has_ to be there!  I mean, it's the kid!  That boy has a machine for a brain."

No one was willing to state the obvious – that even machines could fail.  All were hoping that Kitten was right, and all were terrified that she was wrong.  But he was just… Lying there, looking like a statue carved of ice.  He looked indisputably dead, except for the slight rise and fall of his chest.  He stared up at the ceiling without blinking, eyes blank…

"I hope he's alright…"

~*~

Kat: Ack!  Gomen!  Sorry it's taken so long!  We were working really, really hard on this (and we made it extra long, too. ^_~).  I know it's a bit cheesy, but it fits the plot: and don't worry, this is more of a sub-plot, not the focus.  I wont be making this into one of those Judgment Day stories, I promise.

Lexi: Yeah!  Those aren't very fun… What we have planned is much, much better.

Kat: *rolls eyes* Anyways, let us know if you need anything clarified.  This is coming to you without being beta-ed, so we can only hope that between the two of us we caught all the mistakes. *sweatdrop*   

Lexi: And don't worry about that last section with the faceless ones – it really doesn't matter who said what…  Oh!  And another contest! *smiles happily*  Anyone who can guess where the name "Leareth" comes from and what it means gets… Hmm… A free cameo.  (And I do mean anyone – not just the first person.  We get to decide when and how to use your name, though. ^_~) 


	20. Interlude: Always Laughing

Kat: Well, since I don't want to break up the mood at the end of this chapter, the author notes are going on top today.

Lexi:  Congratulations to the ONE person who got the right answer for the contest last chapter – Leareth comes from Mercedes Lackey's Last Herald-Mage trilogy, and it means Darkness.

Kat:  We apologize for the lateness of this chapter – We were debating putting it here or waiting, but we decided that here was as good as anywhere else.  We'll try to be faster next time…

Lexi: *snickers evilly* And _damn_ are we cruel in this chapter!  Angst, here we come…

Kat:  Oh!  And if you're interested in belonging to a mailing list for this story, just email me at zsillysis@hotmail.com.  Emailing Lexi won't get you on the list – only emailing me!  Put "DatS Mailing List" as your subject line, or something similar, so I know to add you. ^____^ Thanks guys!

**~Interlude: Always Laughing~**

Some people say there is nothing more rewarding than motherhood.  To hold a child's hand in your own, knowing that he belongs to no one else…  The very first time your child smiles you beam right back at him.  That smile is just for you.  You're his lady, his only - the bright star in his universe.  Someday, someday that precious smile will be for another lady, but for now…  For this moment, that smile is yours alone.

You cry when he takes his first shaky step, because you know that one day his steps will be firm, and they will take him away from you.  You can't help but smile when he falls down and cries for you, because you're there to pick him back up again.  You tell him that you'll _always_ be there to pick him up when he falls, because you love him.  He is your world, your child.

When he has a nightmare and asks to crawl up into your bed, you always make room.  You smile and hug him, feeling him tremble despite his best efforts to appear brave.  You pretend not to notice, and tell him he's very brave when he tells you that he was only worried that the monsters would attack you.  He falls asleep cradled to your bossom, just as he did when he was an infant.  You would give _anything_ for your child's protection.  You would die for him, if that was what it took.  He is your world, your child.  He is yours alone.

Yes, motherhood is a wondrous thing.  It has it's ups and downs, but ask any good mother and she'll tell you that she wouldn't give it up for anything.  Not _anything_.  This child will be _hers_ until the day she dies, and she will keep him close to her until he is ready to fly away, fledged at last.  

Yes, motherhood is really something, and any child can tell you that his mother is a wondrous creature.  She knows when he's happy, sad, or afraid.  She knows when he needs love and hugs, when he needs stern talks, and when he needs nothing more than a warm glass of hot chocolate.  She is his lady, his bright star.  His smiles are all for her.

But one day, one day, the child must leave the nest.  You always knew you wouldn't be his only lady forever.  Someday your child will be a man, will spread his wings and soar higher than he ever believed possible.  But _you_ knew.  _You_ knew he could fly that high.

So you'll enjoy the years you have with him.  You'll enjoy those eighteen glorious years before he cuts loose.

But some children cut loose earlier than others.

***

"Moshi, moshi."

"Hi Bulma, do you know where Gohan is?  I've been looking all over and I can't find him."

"No, sorry Chi. He isn't in his room?"

"No.  I looked there first – he was supposed to be working on his Science homework.  I thought that maybe he'd gone over to work in one of your labs or something."

"I'm afraid he isn't here.  I'll definetly keep my eye out for him though."

"Thanks Bulma, that's all I ask.  Call me if you find anything, alright?"

"Sure thing Chichi."

"Bye."

"Bye.  Oh!  Wait, Chichi!"

"Yes?"

"My assistant just brought me something, hold on a sec."

"…"

"…no…I…what do you mean…gone…I don't think…did you…security tapes…yes…are you sure?…no, I…uh huh…"

"…"

"Sorry 'bout that Chi."

"What was that all about?"

"Well… They might be wrong… I need to check it out myself…"

"Damnit Bulma!  You're hiding something from me!  Stop beating around the bush and tell me already."

"You're not going to like it, and I'm not even sure this is correct information, Chi."

"_Tell me_, Bulma.  I don't _care_ if it's 'correct information'!  I _know_ it has something to do with my baby!"

"Chi, calm down!"

"No!  Tell me what you know about my Gohan!  He's been gone for hours!  Bulma, _please_…"

"…Alright.  One of the space ships from Hanger2 is gone.  According to my assistant, witnesses say they saw a small boy in an orange gi run in there.  The security tapes are being checked as we speak."

"…you're…"

"Don't worry!  It might not be him."

"…you…"

"Please, Chichi, it might not have been him!  Why don't you come on over, ok?"

"…"

"Chichi?  Chichi!"

Her only answer was a tiny click.

***

~Six Months Later~ 

Bulma sighed and wiped the sweat off her forehead.  This stupid project was driving her nuts!  If only Gohan was here…  He seemed to have that rare gift of being able to come at old problems with entirely new angles. 

_Oh Gohan…  Why'd you have to go, kid?  You've always been so conscious of how your actions affect others, where was that concern there? I know, I know – you couldn't even _dream_ of hurting your mother.  But, kid, she misses you.  I think her heart is breaking with both you and Son-kun gone… There's only so much the rest of us can do, you know.  We can only help her so much.  I'm not her husband or her son – I'm not even her sister!  And, Gohan, I miss you too.  _We_ miss you.  We all do.  Even Piccolo.  Especially Piccolo.  I don't think even he realized how much you meant to him – he's withdrawn himself since you left.  Won't talk to anyone but Chichi, actually.  It's amazing, actually.  I never thought I'd see the day that those two got along, but they do.  Since you left they seem the best of friends.  The rest of us, well, we can't compete.  _

_Ah, what am I doing?  _Bulma chuckled to herself without humor.  She was loosing it.  Cracking like a nut under the combined pressures of work, depressed best friends, and the loss of someone who was as close to her heart as if he was her own child.

Suddenly the old computer consol in the back of the room beeped.  She yelped loudly and whirled around, breathing heavily.  Her heart was pounding as she stared wide-eyed at the blinking beeping screen.  "Incoming Message!" The screen proclaimed proudly in large red letters.  "Incoming Message!"

"Incoming… message?  But who?"  as if her earlier thoughts had summoned him, the message lit up with Son Gohan's beaming face.  Bulma could only watch in gape-mouthed astonishment as the message began to play.

"_Hi mom!  How are you?  I'm doing pretty well.  It's pretty lonely up here, to tell the truth…  I miss you, and daddy, and everyone else.  Has daddy gotten back yet?  I hope so… It was really stupid of me to leave like that, and I want to tell you I'm really, really sorry.  I love you very much, and I want you to know that you're a great mommy: I can't wait until I get back home!  I don't know how long I've been out here since there really isn't any way to keep track of days or months or anything, but I think I'm 9 now.  I really missed getting a birthday hug from you, and I _definitely_ miss your cooking."  _The recorded Gohan grinned and rubbed the back of his head as he said this, chuckling slightly. 

_"Tell Miss Bulma that I'm sorry I took her ship without asking, and tell her that it's doing its job well."  _Another grin.

_"I've almost reached the coordinates I set in, so I'll stop and restock the larder, then turn back for home.  I should be back in the same amount of time it took me to get this far, but I don't know how long that was, so I can't give you a good estimate…"_  He trailed off, biting his lip.  Suddenly his eyes lit up again, and he continued.

_" Oh yeah!  I also wanted to tell you that I'm still studying, though I'll have some questions for you when I get back - somehow quantum physics doesn't make quite as much sense as normal physics.  I love you soooo much, mommy!  Bye!"_

The message clicked off, and the computer beeped again, informing the world that the message had been recorded.  A tear slipped unnoticed down her cheek as Bulma closed her eyes.  He was ok.  _He was ok!_  Without a backward glance, Bulma bolted out of the lab, disregarding the mess she made of her unfinished project.  

_I have to tell Chichi!_

***

A month later both Chichi and Bulma sat in the lab, talking easily.  After that message from Gohan, Chichi seemed to be doing a lot better.  She insisted on viewing the message at least once a week, sometimes as often as several times a day, but Bulma didn't blame her.  If anything ever happened to _her_ child…  Well, she probably wouldn't be doing nearly as well as her friend was.

To tell the truth, she really felt awfully sorry for Chichi sometimes.  It really wasn't fair – most mothers could look forward to having a child for eighteen years.  Chichi was supposed to be happy she managed to get four.  

Other people might find Chichi obsessive when it came to her son, but she didn't.  She thought Chichi was being perfectly natural.  Well…  Maybe not the making the poor kid study so much, but every mother has her quirks.  But really – by the time Gohan was eight, Chichi could really only claim 5 of those years to have been truly hers – and even that was pushing it.  No, Chichi was being perfectly normal in regards to her behavior towards her son.

"…and Goku let go!  Just let the baby carriage go!  To this day I _still_ don't know what that man was thinking."  

"I don't know, sounds like Son-kun to me."  

"Yes, I suppose.  Knowing him, he didn't realize that gravity was bound to pull the carriage down the hill!" 

Lately Chichi had taken to re-telling stories about when Gohan was a baby.  Some of them, like this one, were one's Bulma had never heard before – after all, she hadn't met the kid until he was four.  She laughed with her friend, and prompted her, interested in how the story would end.

"So it did roll down the hill?  Oh dear!"

"I know!  Anyway, -"

The computer consol chose that moment to beep, and it began to flash "Incoming Message!" just as it had when that first message had come in.  Chichi broke off in confusion, but Bulma knew what was happening this time.

"Another message!" She scrambled closer to the screen, pulling a slightly confused Chichi along with her.  "It's Gohan again!"  
That got Chichi going again.  She thrust herself up next to Bulma, and drank in the sight off her son as he came up onto the screen.  Gohan smiled at them from across space, and stepped away from the screen, preparing to start his message.  Something interrupted him though, and he turned away.  It seemed as though he had forgotten that the message was running…

The two women watched in fascinated horror as the scene unfolded.

_Gohan yelped slightly and scrambled for one of the seats in front.  The ship pitched around him, and the screen went fuzzy for a moment before it refocused.  It was all over in less than a minute, and Gohan climbed out of the crater the ship had caused, looking around.  The sky was an odd shade of purple, the sun white, the ground was crusty black sand, and there were bits of blue moss-like plants.  _

_The people approaching looked as inhospitable as the landscape.  For the most part they were tall beings, broad shouldered and reminiscent of Namek-jins.  However, if they were Namek-jins, they were ones that had gone horribly, horribly wrong.   Their skin was a very dark purple, bordering on black, while their eyes were bright blue.  Their clothing consisted of ragged tunics made from the blue moss, and they were unshod.  The screen followed their progress towards Gohan, zooming out as they came closer so that it captured both the aliens and the child._

_"Um… Hello?"  Gohan said in a very hesitant voice, speaking in Universal Standard.  "Uh… My name is Gohan, I was wondering if you could perhaps tell me where I am?"_

_The creatures frowned down at him and jabbered to each other in an unintelligible language.  Suddenly one of the larger ones near the front began to smirk, and said something that caused the others to look him over speculatively.  Gohan gulped slightly and began backing toward the ship.  _

"Uh, on second thought...  I'll go somewhere else.  I believe I saw a friendlier planet back thataway…"  Spinning on his heel, Gohan sprinted back toward the ship, but it was too late.  

The last any Chikuu-jin heard of the child Son Gohan was an earth-shattering scream, than complete and utter silence.  He was gone.

Neither woman made a sound as the computer finished its process.  The entire world held its breath and the moment of silence stretched on for eternity.  Bulma wasn't sure what to say or do or think.  Gohan…  He couldn't be…

"And, and Goku just let go… let the carriage go… it rolled on and on, and down the hill… and it hit a tree." Chichi's voice was shaking, heavy with unshed tears.  Bulma stared at her friend, startled, as the woman continued.  _What on…_

"Goh…my ba…_he_ flew out, crashed into the tree." Her shoulders were shaking now, and the tears were beginning to leak down her cheeks.

"Fleeew out, and hit the…the tree.  He…went right through it.   Right through!  Right through…the tree.  And he was allright.  He…he was always alright."

Bulma's tears spilled out too, as Chichi's voice wavered – gaining strength, then loosing it.  Bulma felt her heart breaking right along with Chichi.  Chi was such a strong woman, and to see her like this… And to see Gohan like that…  

"He came up laughing," she whispered brokenly.  "My baby always came out laughing."


End file.
